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THE 


AEISTOCRAG Y  OF  BOSTON ; 

WHO  THET  ARE,  AND  WHAT  THE7  WERE 


BEING  A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


BUSINESS   km  BUSINESS  MEN 


w    ®  ©  s  '^  ©  ir^ 


FOR    THE    I.AST    FORTY    YEARS, 


BY    ONE    WHO    KNOWS    THETt'i. 


BOSTON. 
PUBLISHED     BY     THE     A  U  T  H  O  i: 

AND  FOR  SALE    BY  ALL  DEALERS  !S   CHEAP  BOOKS. 

1  S  48. 


ADVERTISEME  N  T. 


-Some  years  ago  there  appeared  a  book,  purporting  to  be  an  account  of 
w.'.aUoy  men  of  Boston,     it  was  easy  to  be  seen,  that  the  person  who  pre- 
pi>  >.,  knew  very  little  of  the  subject  about  which  he  was  writing.     The 

anthor  of  the  present  v/ork  was  then  induced  to  put  down  on  paper — partly 
for  his  own  amusement,  and  partly  for  the  intormalion  of  his  young  friends — 
his  own  recollections  of  the  **  Business  and  Business  Men  ot  boston."  These 
memoranda  are  now  published,  as  it  is  believed  there  is  nothing  in  them 
that  need  not  be  known,  and  much  that  will  gratify  a  rational  curiosity.  He 
will  only  say  for  himself,  that  for  upwards  of  forty  years  he  has  oeeii  a  Boston 
merchant,  and  that  he  claims  to  Know  something  of  the  business  and  society 
of  Boston ;  and  what  is  here  written,  may  be  considered  a  portion  of  his 
experience  and  recollections. 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  tn  the  year  1848,  by  THOMAS  L.  V.  WILSON, 
in  the  office  of  the  Clerk  of  the  District  Coart  of  Massachusetts. 


THE 


ARISTOCRACY  OF  BOSTON: 

WHO  THEY  ARE.  AND  WHAT  THEY  WERE. 


ADAMS,  BENJAMIN.     Long  a  shrewd,  polite  dry  goods  dealeiHfcv 
street,  of  the  firm  of  B.  &  C.  Adams,  and  later  of  the  firm  of  Adani«iSnoid 
4c  Co. 

ALGER,  CYRUS,  from  Biidgewater ;  Iron  Founder,  South  Boston,  who 
has  pushed  his  way,  by  sagacity  and  good  conduct,  to  eminence  and  wealth. 
The  geologist  of  this  name,  his  son,  has  contributed  many  valuable  papers 
upon  that  science  in  Silliman's  Journal.  He  was  sent  by  his  father  to  explore 
Nova  ScQtia,  in  the  vicinity  of  the  coal  mines,  >nany  years  ago.  He  has  beea 
much  employed  by  government,  and  was  selected  by  Col.  Bomford  to  cast 
some  immense  pieces  of  ordnance. 

ALLEN,  ANDREW  J.  Many  years  a  lively,  busy,  and  prosperous  sta- 
tioner, &c.,  in  State-st.,  near  the  Massachusetts  Bank,  and  now  as  busy  about 
railroads.     He  was  one  of  their  first  advocates  in  Boston; 

AMOR Y,  CHARLES  &  WILLIAM.  Sons  of  the  late  Col.  Thomas  C. 
Amory.  Charles  married  a  daughter  of  the  late  Gardiner  Green  ;  William  a 
daughter  of  David  Sears.  The  commission  house  of  "  Thomas  C.  Amory  & 
Co.,''  was  among  the  first  in  Boston.  The  late  "  good  "  Jonathan  Amory  was 
the  other  partner.  On  the  dissolution  of  that  firm,  by  the  death  of  Thomas 
C,  Jonathan  retired  to  a  snug  business  alone.  The  oldest  son  of  Thomas  C, 
formed  the  house  of  Adams  &  Amory.  Joseph  H  Adams  from  Newbury- 
port,  did  a  large  business,  but  failed,  involving  Daniel  Appleton,  now  alarge 
and  prosperous  bookseller  and  publisher,  in  New- York.  This  Thomas  C. 
Amory  has  distinguished  himself  in  organizing  the  present  Fire  Department, 
and  is  president  of  an  insurance  company. 

AMORY,  JONATHAN,  Jr.  A  son  of*  good  "  Jonathan,  succeeded  to  the 
commission  business  in  dry  goods  of  Brown,  Brothers  &  Co.,  in  New-York,  in 
the  unfortunate  house  of  Amory,  Leeds  &  Co.,  who  were  prostrated  by  the 
atorms  of  1S36  and  1837. 

AMORY,  JAMES,  a  cousin  of  Charles  and  AVilliam,  and  son  of  "good  " 
Jonathan,  married  another  daughter  of  the  late  Gardiner  Green. 

ANDREWS,  EBEN.  T.  Formerly  the  partner  of  Isaiah  Thomas,  under 
the  firm  of  Thomas  &  Andrews,  booksellers  and  publishers.  Mr.  Thomas 
retired  to  Worcester,  and  was  the  principal  founder  of  the  Antiquarian  Society. 

APPLETON,  SAMUEL  &  NATHAN.  Brothers,  and  formerly  partners, 
and  importers  of  British  dry  goods,  in  South  Row,  till  Broad-street  was  made. 
Samuel  lived  in  Manchester  many  years,  as  the  buyer  for  the  firm,  when 
Timothy  Wiggin  did  also,  who  bought  for  Benjamin  &  Timothy  Wiggin  in 
i^oston,   and   afterwards  succeeded  to  the   business  of  Timothy  Williams,  in 


\A^521557  . 


4  THE    ARISTOCRACY    OF    COSTOX. 

London.  On  Samuel  Applcton's  return  to  Boston,  "  wanting  a  good  house- 
keeper,'* he  married  Mrs.  Gore,  widow  of  John  Gore,  a  former  hardware  im- 
porter, and  nephew  of  Gov.  Christopher  Gore.  Mrs.  G.  kept  a  select  boarding- 
/louse  in  High-street.  He  invested  largely  in  the  Lowell  and  other  manufac- 
turing establishments.  He  has  a  clear  head,  large  heart,  but  not  free  ut- 
terance. 

Nathan  managed  the  business  in  Boston.  Like  other  importing  houses, 
forty-five  years  ago,  they  often  shipped  pot  and  pearl  ashes  to  Liverpool.  Then 
the  packet  ships  went  but  twice  a  year,  for  spring  and  fall  goods.  One  of  tliese 
ships,  commanded  by  little  Andrew  Scott,  who  afterwards  commanded  the 
Governor  Strong,  owned  by  LeRoy,  Bayard  &  McEvers,  of  New-York,  made 
the  passages  of  two  successive  voyages  to  Liverpool  and  back,  in  33  and  34 
days  :  that  is,  four  passages  in  67  days, — little  less  than  steam  ! 

Nathan  took  an  active  part  with    Francis  C.   Lowell,  Patrick  T.  Jackson, 

and  others,  in  establishing  the  cotton  manufactory    at   Waltham, 

of  the  associates  in  the  first  purchase  at  Lowell.      He  has  been  a 

Jongress,  but  declined  re-election,  and  many  years  a  Director  of 

lank.      His  tastes  are  retiring  and  literary. 

be  mentioned,  to  the  credit  of  Samuel  Appleton,  that  he  com- 
^ith  a  single  fourpence  halfpenny,  paid  to  him  by  a  drover  who 
passed  his  father's  house,  for  his  assistance  in  driving.  He  afterwards  went  to 
Maine,  and  worked  as  a  common  laborer.  He  is  without  children — Nathan 
has  several.  One  of  his  daughters  married  a  son  of  Sir  James  Mcintosh,  and 
another  the  poet  Longfellow.  A  nephew  is  married  to  the  only  daughter  of 
Daniel  Webster.  . 

APPLETON,  WILLIAM,  is  a  nephew  or  cousin  of  S.  &  N.  He  first  ap- 
peared in  Boston  as  a  clerk  and  buyer  of  goods  for  a  country  store  in  New- 
Hampshire.  He  was  afterwards  an  importer  of  British  dry  goods,  with  J.  W. 
Paige.  His  investments  in  manufactories  have  been  very  successful,  as  well  as 
his  operations  in  the  Canton  trade.  In  spite  of  feeble  health  as  a  dyspeptic, 
he  has  shown  great  energy  and  perseverance.  His  perceptions  are  very 
quick,  and  his  judgment  sound  and  upright.  He  has  been  zealous  ft)r  the 
prosperity  of  the  Episcopal  Church,  and  was  one  of  the  founders  of  St.  Paul's, 
and  has  recently  made  an  ample  donation  to  advance  the  education  of  clergy- 
men in  the  Church.     He  married  a  daughter  of  "  good  "  Jonathan  Amory. 

APTHORP,  JOHN  T.  For  many  years  President  oi  the  Suffolk  Insurance 
Office  and  the  Boston  Bank.  Married  a  daughter  of  the  late  William  Foster. 
He  is  of  courteous  manners — and,  like  many  other  gentlemen,  derived  his  title 
of  Colonel  from  having  commanded  the  Cadets.  It  has  been  generally  sup- 
posed that  he  held  the  two  offices  as  President  through  family  influence  and 
warm  personal  friendship,  and  not  his  own  wealth.  He  has  saved  and  inherited 
money.     Harrison  Gray  Otis  and  he  mamed  sisters. 

ARMSTRONG,  SAMUEL  T.  Bred  a  printer  with  Samuel  Etheridge. 
of  Charlestown.  Married  a  daughter  of  Col.  Timothy  Walker,  a  wealthy 
packer  of  beef  in  that  town.  He  kept  a  book-store  in  Cornhill,  and  printed 
for  the  Andover  Theological  Institution.  He  has  been  Mayor  of  Boston,  and 
Lieutenant-Governor. 

Mr.  Etheridge  was  afterwards  of  tlfe  firm  of  Hastings,  Etheridge  &  Bliss — 
Jonathan  Hastings,  the  old  postmaster,  and  Elam  Bliss,  now  of  New-York. 

ATKINS,  BENJAMIN,  of  the  firm  of  Hay  &  Atkins,  for  many  years 
industrious,  saving,  and  thriving  crockery-dealers  in  South  Row,  next  the 
Old  South.     Joseph  Hay,  the  pattern  of  a  polite  shop-keeper. 

AUSTIN,  SAMUEL,  Jun.  Son  of  an  old  Clerk  in  the  State-House— 
who  was  brother  of  a  good  old  ship-bread  baker  at  the  North-End.     Formerly 


THR   ARISTOCRACY    OP    BOSTON.  O 

partner  with  Capt.  Joseph-  W.  Lewis,  brother  f)f  Winslow  Lewis,  the  light- 
house man.  They  were  the  agents  of  the  first  line  of  Boston  and  Liverpool 
packeLH — the  Topaz,  Amethyst,  and  E?nerald — established  with  great  difficulty, 
liy  a  joint  stock  company,  in  1818 — 19,  and  soon  given  up.  Tjie  ships  could 
not  be  then  filled  from  Boston. 

ALTSTIN,  JAMES  T.  "Son-in-law  (and  author  of  the  life  of)  Elbridge 
Gerry,  one  of  the  signers  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence  ;  afterwards 
Governor  of  Massachusetts,  and  Vice-President  of  the  United  States. 

Mr,  Austin  has  been  City-Attorney  and  Attorney-General  of  Massachusetts. 
He  was  long  an  ardent  politician  and  orator  of  the  Republican  Party.  He  is 
a  nephew  of  the  famous  old  "  Ben  Austin,"  who  used  to  edit  the  Chronicle, 
one  of  the  great  guns  of  Democracy  in  the  times  of  Jefferson  and  Adams. 

BALDWIN,  AARON.  President  of  the  Washington  Bank.  Married  a 
sister  of  Philip  Marrett,  President  of  the  New-England  iiank. 

Mr.  B.  was  long  a  safe  and  successful  commission  merchant  on  India  Wharf, 
and  dealt  very  extensively  in  molasses.     He  is  a  native  of  Milton. 

BALLARD,  JOHN.  For  many  years  kept  a  carpet-store  at  the  corner  of 
School  and  Marlborough-streets.  His  father  kept  a  livery-stable.  A  sister 
married  Thomas  Carter,  an  Englishman — formerly  Jackson  &  Carter,  owners 
of  the  ship  Warrington,  in  the  Liverpool  trade,  and  large  importers  of  hats. 

BANCROFT,  GEORGE.  Son  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Aaron  Bancroft,  of  Wor- 
cester, a  Unitarian.  Having  finished  his  studies  at  Cambridge,  he  went  to 
Gottingen  to  pursue  them  further.  On  his  return,  he  preached,  and  was  a 
Unitarian ;  then,  associated  with  Mr.  John  G.  Cogswell,  established  a  school 
at  Round  Hill,  near  Northampton,  Mass.,  intended  to  embrace  a  wide  course 
of  instruction,  including  gymnastics.  He  did  not  succeed.  He  has  since  beea 
Professor  at  Cambridge,  and  distinguished  as  an  author,  chiefly  on  American 
history,  and  as  a  Democratic  politician ;  a  Collector  of  Boston,  Secretary  of 
the  Navy,  and  now  Minister  to  Great  Britain.  He  married  first  into  the 
wealthy  Dwight  family  of  Springfield,  and  since  to  the  widow  Bliss,  also  with 
a  fortune. 

Mr.  Cogswell  is  now  employed  by  John  Jacob  Astor,  to  collect  and  arrange 
his  great  library. 

BANGS,  BE  N  J AMIN.  Formerly  an  importer  of  dry  goods  in  Court-street, 
where  he  succeeded  Andrew  Homer ;  then  of  Bangs  &  Bradford,  in  Broad- 
street  ;  then  in  navigation,  (sometimes  with  the  late  Seth  Knowles,  who  mar- 
ried a  daughter  of  Matthew  Bridge,  of  Charlestown,)  principally  to  South 
America. 

BARTLETT,  JAMES.  Began  as  a  hired  truckman  to  Samuel  Harrison, 
brother  of  James  Harrison,  first  of  Harrison  &  Hall,  then  Harrison  &  Wilby. 
He  had  no  means,  but  succeeded  to  Harrison's  business  by  the  aid  of  the  latter 
firm.  He  united  dealing  in  coals  with  his  trucking,  and  then  invested  in  a 
wharf  at  the  North  End,  in  Lynn-street. 

BARTLETT,  SIUNEY.  A  lawyer  from  the  Old  Colony,  Formerly 
partner  with  Lemuel  Shaw,  now  Chief  Justice — and  a  leading  practitioner. 

BARTLETT,  THOMAS.  A  retired  druggist  of  long  high  standing  in 
Cornhill,  near  State  street,  at  the  sign  of  the  *•  Good  Samaritan."  One  of 
the  few  in  whom  physicians  and  the  public  had  great  confidence— and  a  gen- 
tleman. 

BASSETT.  FRANCIS.  Studied  law  with  Timothy  Bigelow.  Has  been 
Member  of  the  State  Legislature  and  Clerk  of  the  U.  S.  District  and  Circuit 
Courts.     He  is  a  bachelor. 

BATES,  JOHN  D.  Son  of  a  ship-master  and  merchant,  late  of  Concord. 
Related  to  Joshua  Bates,  of  Barings'  house,  London,  [see  Wm.  Gray.]     Du- 


6  THE    ARISTOCRACl    n?    BOSTON. 

ring  his  minority,  he  served  several  years  with  a  heavy  mercantile  house  in 
Europe. 
X  BELKNAP,  JOHN.  Son  of  the  late  Dr.  Belknap,  minister  of  Federal-st. 
Church,  before  Dr.  Channing,  and  historian  of  New  Hampshire.  Professor 
McKean,  who  suc(  ceded  John  Quincy  Adams  at  Cambridge,  preached  there 
also,  immedititely  before  Dr.  Channiiig,  in  the  old  church,  before  the  present 
was  built.  Mr.  Belknap  was  always  one  of  Boston's  retiring,  prudent,  *•  snug," 
and  honorfkblo  men,  principally  in  the  Calcutta  trade,  not  largely  at  once.  Un- 
fortunately, his  eye  sight  has  been  impaired.  He  derived  benefit  from  the  sci- 
entific skill  of  Dr.  Elliot,  the  celebrated  oculist  of  New-York.  His  brother 
Jeremiah  was  partner  of  a  house  in  Marseilles,  and  embarked  in  a  granite 
quarry  at  Quincy,  that  furnished  the  stone  for  the  present  New-York  Ex- 
change, under  the  direction  of  that  deserving  architect,  Solomon  Willard,  who 
was  also  the  architect  of  the  Bunker  Hill  Monument. 

BELL,  JOSEPH.  From  Haverhill,  N.  H.,  where  he  acquired  his  fortune. 
He  and  Rufus  Choate  married  sisters  of  the  family  of  Olcott,  of  Hanover. 
He  has  been  a  member  of  the  Legislature. 

BIGELOW,  JACOB.  A  respectable  physician,  and  son  of  a  clergyman  in 
Sudbury, — once  R.umford  Professor  in  Harvard, — now  Professor  of  Materia 
Medica  in  the  Medical  College.  When  Dr.  James  Jackson  retired  from  active 
practice,  he  recommended  Dr.  Bigelow  to  many  families.  He  has  published 
on  botany.  Under  a  demure,  almost  bashful  exterior,  he  possesses  great 
shrewdness  and  dry  humor — it  was  "  human  nature,"  for  him  to  parody  "the 
ode  to  the  passions." 

BINNE  Y,  AMOS.  Son  of  the  late  Col.  Amos  Binney,  one  of  the  few  na- 
tives of  Hull,  forty  years  ago,  kept  a  small  retail  grocery  in  Salem  or  Hull- 
Bt.,  and  then  at  the  lower  end  of  Long  Wharf.  He  was  a  man  of  enterprise, 
great  sagacity,  and  a  decided  democrat,  and  leading  man  with  the  Methodists. 
He  was  appointed  Navy  Agent,  during  the  war  of  1812,  when  the  government 
was  straitened  for  means,  treasury  notes  at  twenty-five  per  cent,  discount.  He 
exerted  himself  with  energy  and  success,  to  fit  out  the  U.  S.  ships  of  war- 
He  was  one  of  the  founders  of  the  New  England  Glass  Company,  at  Lech- 
nure  Point,  from  his  intimacy  with  Daniel  and  Joseph  S.  Hastings,  and  Deming 
Jarvis,  and  influenced  E.  &  A.  Winchester  to  build  there  extensive  provision 
and  soap  and  candle  works  near  the  glass  works.  Cragie's  Bridge  followed 
their  improvements.  Andrew  Cragie  was  a  large  holder  of  Yazoo  scrip,  but 
derived  little  benefit  from  the  government  appropriation  for  its  partial  payment. 
He  vf^s forced  to  meet  payments  at  the  Boston  Bank,  his  endorsers  buying  the 
scrip  as  sold  at  auction,  for  one-third  its  ultimate  value. 

BINNEY,  JOHN,  kept  a  ship  chandlery  and  grocery  on  Long  Wharf. 

The  present  Mr.  Binney  married  John's  daughter.  May  his  taste  for  natural 
science  be  devoted  with  his  father's  zeal  for  the  benefit  of  his  country,  and  his 
wealth  used  with  his  father's  judicious  benevolence  ! 

BLAKE,  SARAH.  Widow  of  Edward  Blake,  till  the  war  of  1812  a  large 
importer  of  British  dry  goods,  in  State-st. — then  in  the  commission  business 
with  Isaac  McLellan,  as  Blake  and  McLellan — on  Mr.  Blake's  death,  McLellan 
&  Chadwick,  (see  Ebenezer  Chadwick.)  Mrs.  Blake  is  one  of  the  two  daugh- 
ters of  Samuel  Parkman,  by  his  first  wife.  Edward  Tuckerman  married  the  other. 

BLAKE,  MRS.  Widow  of  Joshua,  brother  of  George,  the  late  U.  S.  Dis- 
trict Attorney.  Joshua  was  a  captain  in  David  Hinckley's  employ,  in  the  Medi- 
terranean, and  made  money  in  it.  After  quitting  the  sea,  he  continued  in 
the  Sicily,  and  embarked  in  the  Calcutta  trade.  Francis  Stanton,  one  of  the 
"  Algerines,"  (see  George  Hallet.)  his  brother-in-law,  who  died  a  bachelor, 
and  whose  wealth  fell  mostly  to  Mrs,  Blake,  was  often  concerned  with  him. 


THR    ARISTOCRACY   OF    BOSTON.  7 

BLAKE,  GEORGE,  was, appointed  U.  S.  District  Auorney  by  President^ 
Jefferson,  and  held  that  office  till  removed  by  Gen.  Jackson.  He  was  an  ardent 
republican  in  Faneuil  Hall,  but  not  a  ready  speaker.  After  the  choice  of  Mr. 
Adams,  his  republicanism  grew  cold  ;  in  fact,  he  was  constitutionally  afflicted 
with  chills.  In  a  barber's  shop  he  doffed  more  clothes  than  was  ever  done  by 
any  actor  in  playing  the  grave-digger  in  Hamlet.  He  was  a  patron  of  the 
theatre,  and  a  crony  of  Cooke,  &c. 

BLAKE,  FRANCIS,  another  brother,  a  lawyer  in  Worcester,  died  young,  v 
in  public  life,  a  federalist,  who  gave  promise  of  much  higher  talent  than  George 
possessed. 

BOIES,  JEREMIAH  SMITH.  First  a  paper,  and  then  a  cotton  manufac- 
turer, above  Milton  Bridge, — a  venerable  and  respected  gentleman  of  the  old 
school,  and  a  thorough  business  man,  aged  nearly  ninety. 

John  Bussey,  his  near  neighbor,  and  father  of  Captain  Bussey,  in  the  Liver- 
pool, and  brother  of  the  wealthy  Benjamin  of  Boston,  deserves  equally  to  be 
remembered. 

BORDMAN,  WM.  H.,  the  late,  was  of  the  firm  of  Bordman  &  Pope,  on 
India  Wharf,  [see  Pope,  Pascal  P.,]  engaged  in  the  North  West,  and  Canton 
trade, — a  very  large  private  underwriter.  His  accomplished  and  celebrated 
daughter  married  H.  G.  Otis,  Jr. 

BORDMAN.  WILLIAM,  had,  I  think,  but  one  child,  who  married  Wm. 
Lawrence. 

BORDMAN,  LYDIA.  Widow  of  William  Bordman,  who  lived  in  Han- 
over-st.,  in  the  house  standing  back  to  back  with  the  Codman  estate,  afterwards 
Earl's  Coffee  House.     He  removed  thence  into  Hancock -st. 

He  was  originally  a  hatter,  and  was  commonly  called  "  Black  Bill  Bordman,'* 
from  having  been  engaged,  as  was  said,  in  the  trade  in  blacks. 

BORLAND,  JOHN,  began  life  as  one  of  the  firm  of  Oliver,  Borland  &  Ab- 
bot, auctioneers,  in  Kilby-street,  and  then  on  Central  Wharf,  including  general 
commissions — inherited  a  fortune  from  his  uncle,  James  Lloyd  ;  chosen  senator 
from  Massachusetts,  after  John  Quincy  Adams  resigned.  Among  other  Eng- 
lish agencies,  Mr.  Lloyd  had  that  of  S.  Smith  Clapham  &Eastbum,  of  Leeds. 
Mr.  James  Sastburn  was  afterwards  of  the  firm  of  Eastbum,  Kirk  &  Co.,  ex- 
tensive publishers  in  New-York.  He  was  well  read,  especially  in  Theology, 
and  a  liberal  Methodist. 

Bishop  Eastburn  is  his  son.  Another  son  died  soon  after  graduating  ;  he 
had  given  promise  of  great  talent. 

BOURNE,  EZRA  A.,  from  Sandwich,  Cape  Cod,  was  first  in  the  crockery 
trade  with  William  Wood — afterwards  W.  &  T.  N,  Wood.  Mr.  Bourne  was 
attacked  with  bleeding  at  the  lungs,  and  travelled  south — rode  much  on  horse- 
back in  the  upper  part  of  Georgia,  and  recovered  his  health.  He  then  kept  a 
crockery  store  No.  1  South  Row.  He  lived  with  his  mother,  in  a  small  house, 
near  Dr.  Lowells'  church,  of  which  he  was  a  member,  in  Staniford-street,  and 
inherited  a  small  property.  On  the  death  of  William  Ward,  he  was  chosen 
president  of  the  State  Bank.  Late  in  life,  he  married  the  widow  of  Charles 
Thomdike.  He  was  always  quick,  careful  in  every  thing,  and  highly 
honorable. 

BOWDITCH,  NATHANIEL  L.  Son  of  the  late  Dr.  Nath.  Bowditch, 
the  celebrated  mathematician, — translator  of  La  Place's  great  work,  "  La  Me- 
canique  Celeste," — more  extensively  and  practically  useful,  as  the  corrector  of 
the  tables  in  Blunt's  Navigator.  He  had  been  many  years  president  of  an 
insurance  office  in  Salem,  and  reluctantly  removed  to  Boston,  to  become  presi- 
dent of  the  Life  Insurance  Company,  at  a  salary  of  $5000  per  annum.  Eben. 
Francis  was  said  to  have  had  great  influence  in  promoting  this  wise  step,  proper 


8  THE    ARISTOCRACY    OP    BOSTON. 

tables  for  estimating  the  value  of  human  life  being  yet  hardly  formed,  and  the 
whole  subject  of  annuities  imperfectly  understood. 

Nr.   N.    L.    Bowditch  married    a  daughter  of   Eben.  Francis,  and  is  well 
versed  in  real  estate  practice. 

BRADFORD,  CHARLES  F.,  of  the  firm  of  Charles  Homer  &  Co.,  for- 
merly Homes  &  Homer,  largely  in  hardware,  for  many  years  in  Union-street, — 
first  Henry  Homes, — Homer  first  clerk,  then  partner.  Mr.  Homes  was  an  or- 
thodox congregationalist,  of  most  extensive  christian  benevolence.  His  chari- 
ties and  kindness  always  ready,  and  liberally  in  amount  for  every  good  object, 
Mr.  Homer  was  greatly  respected. 

J3RADLEE,  JOSIAH.  Son  of  a  Boston  tinman.  His  valuable  commission 
business  has  been  principally  from  the  heavy  Salem  India  houses^  and  from 
Nantucket  and  New  Bedford,  in  oil  and  sperm  candlea.  His  second  wife  was 
Miss  Frothingham,  sister  of  the  Rev.  Nath'l.  Frothingham,  and  daughter  of 
±L'ben.  Frothingham,  who  kept  a  small  crockery  store  in  Marshall's  Lane,  ten- 
ded mainly  by  his  brother-in-law,  old  Mr.  Langdon,  "neat  as  a  pink;" — in  the 
errands,  the  future  clergyman,  the  present  Dr.  F.,  used  to  assist.  Mr.  F.  was 
very  proud  of  his  boy,  who  distinguished  himself  in  the  public  schools,  and  by 
theaid  of  Theophilus  Parsons,  Samuel  Dexter,  and  others,  he  was  sent  to 
Cambridge. 

Zerah  Colburn  appeared  in  Boston  about  that  time,  and  the  same  gentlemai! 
made  great  offers  to  his  father,  to  give  him  up  to  be  educated,  but  in  vain  ;  ho 
was  bent  upon  taking  him  to  England  for  a  show. 

Mrs.  Bradlee  (Miss  Frothingham)  was  secretary  or  Treasurer  for  the  Howard 
Asylum  for  Indigent  Boys,  in  1804  or  1805. 

Joseph  P.  Bradlee,  Josiah's  brother,  united  the  oil  and  tin  business  in  But- 
ler's Row. 

BRADLEE,  JAMES  BOWDOIN,  son  of  Josiah,  married  a  daughter  of 
rich  Perrin  May,  an  old  south-ender,  and  crony  of  Joshua  Davis,  Josiah 
Knapp,  and  others.  Mrs.  Glass  would  have  immortalized  their  fish,  dipped  in 
Indian  meal,  fried,  or  rather  boiled,  in  salt  pork  fat,  "  browned,  and  done  to  a 
wabble." — But  it  was  at  supper  !  O,  whist,  whist ! 

BRADLEE,  JOHN  W.  Surviving  partner  of  Thomas  D.  &  J.  W.  Brad- 
lee, long  in  the  wholesale  liquor  business  at  the  corner  of  Flag-alley,  in  the 
"Bite." 

Thomas  D.,  in  addition  to  this  business,  bought  many  notes — and  kept  his 
money  rolling  very  carefully  and  snugly  until  his  only  daughter  was  married   • 
to  Col.  Wm.  P.  Winchester — which  marriage  he  liked  so  well,   that  he  gave 
them  his  money  very  freely,  and  left  them  more  than   half  a  miliion.     [See 
Winchester.] 

BRADLEE,  SAMUEL.  Long  a  snug,  quiet,  hard-ware  man,  in  South-row, 
(in  the  street,  or  next  it,  where  Gen.  John  Winslow  formerly  kept,)  iron  cast- 
ings, &c. 

Gen  Winslow  failed  on  Christmas  Day,  1810,  when  the  old  U.  S.  Bank 
began  to  pull  in  hard,  in  consequence  of  endorsements  for  Barker  &  Bridge, 
auctioneers  in  Kilby-street,  corner  cf  Doane,  where  B.  &  C  Adams  and 
Elisha  Parks  afterwards  kept — T.  K.  Jones  &  Co.  being  on  the  opposite  cor- 
ner of  Doane-street. 

Barker  &  Bridge  were  once  partners  with  Robert  G.  Shaw,  as^tSliaw,  Bar- 
ber &  Bridge,  in  State-street,  nearly  opposite  Kilby-street. 

Gen.  John  Peabody  made  a  great  crash  at  Newburyport,  at  the  same  time. 
BREWER,    THOMAS.      Formerly  of   Stone  &   Brewer,   crockery-ware 
merchants,   in  Salem.     His  wife  is  sister  to   Stone,  and  of  charming  address. 
They  dissolved — Brewer  continuing  the  business.    Stone  went  into  the  distilling 


THE   ARISTOCRACY    OP   BOSTON.  9 

business — and  became  celebrated  by  his  controversy  with,  and  successful  pro- 
secution of,  the  Rev.  iMr.  (.now  Dr.)  Cheever,  of  New  York.  Brewer  did  not 
gucceed  ;  and  was  hired  to  remove  to  Boston,  by  Harrison  &  Wilhy,  to  keep 
their  retail  shop  at  the  corner  of  Franklin  &  Washington  (then  Marlboro)  street, 
where  John  McFarlane  had  kept,  and  since  CoUamore  &  Churchill.  He  then 
opened  a  cheap  dry-goods'  shop  in  Washington-street,  near  Boylston-market ; 
then  a  distiller  ;    speculated,  lost  much,  and  regained  bv  the  aid  of  his  son. 

BREWER,  GARDINKR.  Son  of  Thomas,  and  brother  of  Dr.  Thos.M., 
one  of  the  editors  and  proprietors  of  the  Boston  *'  Atlas."  Has  been  a  distiller 
with  his  father  ;  but  now  of  Sayles,  Merriam  &  Brewer,  wholesale  domestic 
goods. 

BRIMMER,  MARTIN.  (Late  Mayor.)  Nephew  of  the  late  good  old 
Andrew,  who  lived  hospitably  at  Atkinson-street,  entertaining  Inany  of  his  old 
English  connexions.     He  left  an  ample  fortune  to  Martin. 

BROOKS,  PETER  C.  The  richest  man  in  New  England  A  native  of 
North  Yarmouth,  Me.  Related  to  the  late  Gov.  Brooks— the  Colonel  Brooks 
of  the  Revolution. 

Mr.  B.  married  a  daughter  of  Nathaniel  Gorham,  of  Charlestown,  brother  of 
Stephen  Gotham,  associated  with  Phelps  in  Genesee  and  Holland  Land  pur- 
chases in  the  State  of  New  Vork. 

He  kept  a  private  insurance  office  in  the  same  building  with  the  "  Bunch  of 
Grapes,"  at  the  corner  of  State  and  Kil by-streets,  where  the  New  England 
Bank  is.  Crowell  Hatch,  of  Jamaica  Plains — of  imputed  **  Black-Bird  "  memo- 
ry, (the  slang  term  of  the  day  for  slave-trading — Barnabas  Hedge,  of  Plymouth — 
Benjamin  P.  Homer  and  Adam  Babcock,  who  lived  near  or  on  part  of  the 
site  of  the  present  Tremont  House. 

Mr.  Brooks  was  watchful  of  the  value  of  outstanding  risks,  claims,  and 
accounts.  Heavy  balances  were  often  left  in  his  hands.  He  purchased 
acr.ounts — that  is,  all  the  outstanding  interests  of  parties  who  might  wish  to 
close  up — or  where  deaths  would  make  it  important  to  settle  estates.  Tuthill 
Hubbard's  books  were  said  to  have  given  him  a  large  sum. 

His  savings  were  always  very  carefully  invested.  Security  before  large 
profit.  He  would  take  mortgages  when  few 'capitalists  would  touch  them, 
on  account  of  the  long  term  of  the  equity  of  redemption — then  three  years. 

He  was  afterwards  President  of  the  New  England  Insurance  Office,  at  the 
corner  of  Exchange  and  State-streets — the  New  England  Bank  then  below. 
This  was  always  a  quiet,  business  office — very  unlike  the  gossiping  Fire  and 
Marine.  Ozias  Goodwin  and  John  Holland — two  old,  worthy,  retired  ship- 
masters and  intimate  friends — leading  Directors. 

His  town  house  is  at  the  corner  of  Atkinson  and  Purchase-streets,  near 
Russia  Wharf;  his  country  seat,  in  Medford,  where,  in  summer,  he  was  a 
regular  attendant  and  admirer  of  the  late  Dr.  Osgood. 

Mr.  Brooks  has  four  sons  and  three  daughters.  One  of  his  daughters  mar- 
ried Edward  Everett :  another,  Chas.  F.  Adams,  son  of  John  Quincy  Adams; 
and  the  third,  Rev.  Dr.  Frothingham.  One  of  his  sons  is  a  merchant  in  New 
York,  and  is  very  wealthy. 

BRYANT,  JOHN — Of  Bryant  &  Sturges — who  began  business  nearly 
forty  years  ago,  after  they  had  been  to  China  and  the  North- West  Coast,  as 
supercargoes  for  Theodore  Lyman  and  J.  &  T.  H.  Perkins.  Mr.  Bryant  has 
always  been  the  desk  man.  They  opened  their  first  Canton  goods  in  Codman's 
store,  L'ndeirsdane. 

BUMSTEAD,  JOHN—Of  Trott  &  Bumstead— formerly  importers  of  Brit- 
ish dry  goods,  in  Cornhill ;  near  Dr.  Bartlett,  then  in  State-street,  near  Boot  & 
Pratt.     Siiice  in  mar.ufactures.     Mr.  Bumstead  inherited  a  good  property  from 


10  THE    ARISTOCRACY    OP    BOSTOIC. 

his  father,  Deacon  Josiah  Bumstead.     His  mother  was  sister  of  the  late  Gover- 
nor Gore. 

BURROUGHS.  GEORGE.  Many  years  Cashier  of  the  Union  Bank- wheu 
Oliver  Wendell,  Samuel  Brown,  and  Thomas  L.  Wirithrop  were  Presidente 
thereof. 

BRAY,  Mrs. — Widow  of  Mr.  Bray,  an  Englishman,  formerly  of  the  firm  of 
Bray  &  Boit,  India  Wharf.  She  is  a  daughter  of  the  late  Samuel  Eliot,  and 
inherited  her  property  from  him. 

CABOT,  HENRY.  Only  son  of  the  late  George  Cabot.  President  of  the 
Branch  of  the  first  U.  S.  Bank  in  Boston,  until  its  charter  expired  ;  of  the 
Boston  Insurance  Office  ;  and  of  the  Hartford  Convention.  Once  U.  S.  Sena- 
tor from  Massachusetts.  Aaron  Burr  then  said  of  him,  that  "  he  never  spoke, 
but  light  followed  him." 

Such  a  man  could  not  be  without  great  influence  in  trade  and  politics.  Hi^ 
opinions  were  often  required  and  deferred  to  on  marine  insurance  and  mercan- 
tile questions  of  importance.  The  State  Courts  were  tied  up  by  rules  of  law. 
and  arbitrations  were  much  resorted  to  for  want  of  equity  jurisdiction.  His 
unquestioned  integrity  and  independence  gave  confidence  in  the  decisions  of 
his  clear  and  sound  r/iind.  He  began  life  as  a  sailor,  (like  a  true  descendant 
of  the  Cabots,  the  first  discoverers  of  the  continent  of  North  America,)  from 
Beverly. 

A  beautiful  and  discriminating  sketch  of  his  character  was  given  in  a  sermon 
preached  on  his  death  by  President  Kirkland,  at  the  church  in  Summer-street, 
where  he  had  worshipped.  A  few  copies  only  were  printed,  and  given  among 
his  friends. 

President  Kirkland  married  a  daughter,  who  accompanied  him  in  his  voyage 
up  the  Mediterranean  and  in  his  travels  in  Egypt,  &c. 

Henry  studied  law,  and  opened  an  office  in  Pemberton  Hill,  near  Charles 
Jackson's  and  Eben.  Gay's,  with  great  advantage  and  influence — he,  among 
others,  as  attorney  to  the  Branch  Bank.  He  had  the  reputation  of  great 
natural  talent.  But,  lighter  pursuits  were  more  to  his  taste.  Pie  became  a 
walking  broker  in  State-street,  in  large  operations.  His  principal  resort,  the 
Suffolk  Office.  » 

He  inherited  his  father's  wealth — not  large — and  he  added  to  it  by  invest- 
ments in  manufactures. 

The  sight  of  one  eye  was  injured,  some  years  ago,  by  the  bursting  of  a  gun, 
while  shooting  woodcock — to  which  sport  he  and  John  "W.  Boolt  were  devoted, 

CABOT.  SAMUEL.  Son  of  the  late  Andrew,  brother  of  George  above. 
Married  a  daughter  of  Thomas  H.  Perkins,  and  was  admitted  a  partner  of  that 
firm.  Mrs.  Follen,  the  authoress,  (widow  of  the  late  celebrated  Dr.  Follen,) 
is  a  sister  of  Samuel. 

CAINS,  THOMAS.  Began  the  glass-making  business,  in  a  small  way,  at 
South  Boston.  He  was  indefatigable  in  introducing  his  goods,  by  carrying 
round  samples  himself  among  the  dealers. 

CART  WRIGHT,  CHARLES  H.  President  of  the  Marine  Insurance  Co. 
Formerly  of  Cartwright  &  Mitchell,  commission  business,  principally  from 
Nantucket. 

GARY,  GEORGE  B.— Of  Josiah  Bradlee  &  Co.,  after  having  been  a  clerk 
with  Mr.  Bradlee.  Son  of  Mr.  Cary,  Chelsea,  a  retired  merchant  of  former 
eminence.  He  lived  in  a  brick  house  about  two  miles  from  Chelsea  bridge — a 
.eolitary  house,  without  tree  or  neighbor — on  the  north  side  of  Salem  turnpike. 

CARY,  THOMAS  G.  The  brother  of  George.  Studied  law  with  Deacon 
(afterwards  Judge)  Peter  Oxenbridge  Thacher,  son  of  Dr.  Thacher,  of  Brattle- 
etreet  Church.    While  at  the  bar,  the  Deacon  was  a  frequent — not  popular — 


THE    ARISTOCRACY   OP    BOSTON.  11 

spoTiter  at  Faneuil  Hall,  about  on  the  same  level  with  Alexander  Townsend 
and  other  Federal  aspirants. 

Mr.  Gary  married  a  daughter  of  Thomas  H.  Perkins,  and  "  got  out  stone'* 
at  a  quarry  in  Quincy — influenced,  probably,  by  the  money  of  Col.  Perkins. 
The  quarry  was  bought,  and  a  rail-road  from  it  to  the  landing  built.  The  stone 
for  Bunker-Hill  Monument  was  given  by  Col.  Perkins  from  this  quarry. 

Mr.  Cary  was  long  a  long  cadet,  and  a  great  marcher — as  proved  by  hia 
daily  walks  from  and  to  Chelsea. 

CHADWICK.  EBENEZER— From  Portland.  First  of  the  firm  of  Ro- 
bert El  well  &  Co.,  who  did  a  large  eastern  business,  when  the  McLella^is. 
of  Portland,  and  Abiel  Wood,  of  Wiscasset,  flourished.  El  well  &  Co.  suffered 
heavily  by  returned  bills  in  embargo  times.  Was  then  of  McLellan  &  Chad- 
vnck.  Isaac  McLellan,  from  Bath — late  Blake  &  McLellan — [See  Blake, 
Sarah,]  married  a  daughter  of  John  Coffin  Jones,  by  whom  he  had  property. 
Became  agent  for  the  Merrimack  Co.,  for  the  purchase  and  transmission  of 
cotton.     Has  invested  in  manufacturing  stock. 

CHAPMAN,  HENRY,  A  retired  ship-chandler.  Late  Chapman  &  Wain- 
wright. 

Chapman  married  a  Green,  and  is  father-in-law  of  Maria  Chapman,  t'ne 
abolitionist. 

Mr.  Wainwright  is  a  son  of  Henry  Wainwright,  (of  Wainwright  &  Jackson, 
crockery-ware  merchants,  in  Exchange-street ;)  an  excellent  Englishman : 
many  years  Treasurer  of  the  British  Charitable  Society ;  and  unfortunately 
drowned  while  bathing  in  Charles  River,  Cambridge.  "^ 

Samuel  Stillman  Gai  (many  years  an  intelligent  supercargo  out  of  Boston — 
late  the  managing  partner  of  the  house  of  Baring,  Brothers  &  Co..  of  Liver- 
pool,)  married  a  daughter  of  this  Henry. 

Rev.  Dr.  Wainwright,  of  New  York,  is  a  nephew. 

The  family  is  of  Lancashire  origin,  and  related  to  that  of  the  celebrated 
organist  and  musician,  Dr.  Wainwright,  whose  contest  on  the  organ  at  Hali- 
fax, with  the  great  astronomer  Hersche^l,  when  a  youth,  is  well  known. 

CLARK,  BENJAMLN  C.  Commission  merchant.  Commercial  Wharf. 
A  worthy  son  of  a  most  industrious  father — John  Clark — long  a  tinman  in 
Marshairs-lane. 

CODM  AN,  JOHN,  Rev.,  D.  D.  Son  of  John— formerly  of  John  &  Stephen 
Codman,  once  extensive  merchants  in  Codman's  Wharf  (since  swallowed  or 
filled  up  by  the  new  market,)  and  Market-street. 

Dr.  Codman  inherited  his  property  from  his  father,  who  lived  in  Paris  at  iiw 
period  of  some  of  the  great  changes  in  France.  Wm.  Vans,  then  in  Paris  also, 
had  large  dealings  with  him,  and  tried  afterwards,  without  effect,  to  establish 
claims  against  his  estate  in  Boston.     They  were  barred  by  the  statute. 

The  doctor  has  been  zealously  Calvinistic ;  and  his  settlement  in  Dorches- 
ter— making  division  in  the  old  parish  of  Dr.  Harris — caused  fierce  and  dis- 
graceful disputes. 

The  doctor's  house  and  grounds  are  fine,  and  his  living  generous  and  hospi- 
table. Sir  Walter  Scott  would  have  taken  him  for  an  abbot,  rather  than  a 
descendant  of  one  of  Cromwell's  puritans. 

The  estate  in  Hanover-street,  once  Earl's  Coffee-House,  was  John  Cod- 
man's  dwelling-house. 

Dr.  Codman  has  recently  deceased. 

CODMAN,  CHARLES  RUSSELL,  Brother  of  John.  Has  done  little 
business.  Formerly,  now  and  then  an  underwriter.  Inherited  a  good  real 
estate  from  his  father,  much  of  it  in  Kilby-street  and  Lindell's-lane,  and  affects 
the  *'haut  t<m:' 


12  THE   ARISTOCRACY   OP   BOSTON. 

Another  brother,  who  had  a  surpassing  bass  voice,  and  sang  in  the  Handel 
and  Haydn  Society,  died  many  years  ago. 

CODMAN,  HENRY.  Son  of  Stephen,  above  named.  Studied  law.  His 
steady,  cool,  faithful,  and  judicious  qualities,  brought  upon  him  many  officee 
of  trust.  He  is,  and  has  long  been,  the  patron  friend  of  Lucius  Manlius  Sar- 
gent :    they  "  chum"  together. 

He  married  the  only  daughter  of  the  late  John  Amory — whose  commodious, 
old-fashioned  town  house,  was  on  Washington-street,  the  garden  running  to 
the  rear  of  St  Paul's  Church.  One  of  the  last  remnants  of  the  sickle  pear  was 
in  it.     His  country  house,  as  old-fashioned  and  comfortable,   was  in  Roxbury* 

"  Amory  Hall"  was  named  after  Mr.  John  Amory. 

Stephen  Codman  was,  for  many  years,  conspicuous  as  a  politician.  To 
preside  at  the  meetings  in  Faneuil  Hall,  "  Stephen  Codman  !"  was  always 
Ben.  Russell's  first  shout — and  it  never  failed.  If  Mr.  Codman  were  not  there, 
"  Col.  Messenger?"  was  Ben's  second  call.  Then  for  the  tug  of  eloquence — 
Thacher — Savage — Townsend — Harry  Otis,  and  "  the  music  of  the  axe  and 
the  hammer,"  the  loss  of  which  was  sadly  deplored  during  the  embargo — 
William  Sullivan,  with  his  pleasing  and  persuasive  tones — Christopher  Gore, 
too  pompous  and  formal  for  effect — and  Samuel  Dexter  and  John  Lowell, 
rarely,  but  with  wondrous  and  convincing  power. 

When  Dexter  opposed  and  declared  off  from  some  proposed  measure  of  the 
Federal  Party,  during  the  war  of  1812,  the  whole  crammed  Hall  were  aghast ! 
When  Otis  replied,  the  charm  of  his  eloquence  was  broken  ;  he  had  little 
power,  and  his  audience  no  sympathy. 

Samuel  Dexter  ceased  to  be  a  party  man.  He  became  not  only  ^^ almost ^^ 
but  "  altogether'^  an  American  ;    he  had  no  bonds  to  **  except  J* 

Josiah  Quincy  spoke  often,  when  at  home,  but  without  effect.  He  foamed 
and  frothed. 

Ben.  Russell  was  of  that  class.  Like  old  Gov.  Y.  Wright,  (of  Maryland,) 
in  Congress,  who  said  he  was  made  up  of  '•  gin  cocktail,  whiskey,  and  Demo- 
cracy," Ben's  face  got  as  red  as  a  turkey-cock's  throttles;  he  got  too  full  for 
utterance. 

Benj.  Pollard,  (afterwards  street  inspector,)  was  a  favorite. 

Judge  Dawes  was  always  heard  with  welcome.  "Little  Tommy's  lisp," 
dry  humor,  jokes,  and  ^sop-like  tales,  always  put  to  the  purpose,  produced 
many  a  roar  and  loud  hurrah.     Moffet  spoiled  him. 

But,  after  all,  Otis  was  the  master  popular  speaker,  and  could  not  fail  to 
charm  the  most  fastidious. 

At  times  there  were  speakers  on  the  "  Repuhlican^^  side,  but  not  at  strictly 
party  caucuses.  It  is  a  New  York  (not  a  Boston)  fashion,  for  one  party  to 
break  up  the  party-meeting  of  another. 

After  Charles  .Tervis'  death,  the  Republican  Party  had  little  speaking  talent. 
Old  Benj.  Austin,  George  Blake,  James  F.  Austin,  Eben.  Clough,  and  "  Old 
AdamSy'   the  wire-sieve  mender,  were  nearly  all. 

If  ever  an  object  of  contempt  deserved  pity,  James  T.  Austin  did,  in  Web- 
ster's first  reply  to  him,  in  old  Faneuil.  He  was  torn  limb  from  limb,  and  hung 
up  piecemeal — dangling — the  scorn  of  all. 

On  one  occasion,  1810  or  1811 — the  era  of  good  feelings — the  two  parties 
dined  together  on  the  4th  of  July.     Twelve  hundred  in  that  noble  hall  ! 

Benj.  Austin  was  the  principal  writer  in  the  **  Independent  Chronicle,"  and 
lived  in  an  old-fashioned  frame  house  at  the  corner  of  Hancock  and  Cambridge- 
streets. 

When  Cook  first  played  lago  at  the  Federal-street  Theatre,  he  denounced 
the  play — Othedo's  black  love  being  likely  to  corrupt  American  daughters  ! 


THE    ARISTOCRACY    OP    BOSTON. 


41 


COOBLE,  JOSIAH  P.  A  lawyer,  from  Keene,  N.  H.,  who  has  been,  for  ia, 
longtime,  faithful  and  diligent;  and,  what  rarely  happens  in  his  profession, 
as  the  world  says,   "  of  few  words,  and  modest." 

COOLIDGE,  JOSEPH.  In  the  China  trade.  Grandson  of  Joseph  Cool- 
idge,  first  a  goldsmith,  then  in  partnership  with  Samuel  Parkraan.  Lived  in 
the  house  west  corner  of  Bowdoin  and  Cambridge-streets.  Joseph,  his  son, 
lived  on  the  entrance  from  Court-street  to  that  oddly  named  West  Boston 
Square,  next  to  Fulham's  stable  and  dwelling-house.  The  house  was  once 
kept  as  a  boarding-house  by  Mr.  Bond,  once  a  broker  in  Flag-alley,  just  out 
of  State-street, — George  Bond's  father,  (late  of  Whitwell,  Bond  &  Co.,  the 
old  Games'  house.) 

CORDIS,  THOMAS.  Formerly  of  Bellows,  Cordis  &  Jones,  importers  of 
British  dry  goods.  When  Thomas  Gushing  failed  in  the  hardware  business 
with  Charles  Scudder,  Cordis  slid  into  it,  by  providing  capital  for  Scudder. 

John  Bellows,  (of  Bellows,  Cordis  &  Jones,)  was  afterwards  President  of 
the  Manufacturers'  and  Mechanics'  Bank. 

The  Rev.  H.  W.  Bellows — a  Unitarian  minister  in  New  York — is  his  son. 

John  Bellows  had  a  brother,  of  the  firm  of  Bellows  &  Gates,  in  Montreal ; 
afterwards  Horatio  Gates  &  Co.,  (or  nephew,)  who  did  a  heavy  American  busi- 
ness in  ashes,  exchange,  and  specie. 

CROCKETT,  GEORGE  W.  Formerly  of  the  firm  of  Crockett,  Seaver 
&  Co. — established  by  Whitney,  Cutler  &  Hammond,  in  the  West  India  goods 
business. 

Seaver  is  a  brother  of  Benj.  Seaver,  of  the  then  firm  of  Whitwell,  Bond 
&  Co..  (now  Whitwell  &  Seaver.) 

CROWNINSHIELD,  BENJAMIN  H.  Was  wealthy  in  Salem  before  the 
war  of  1812.  Was  successful  in  privateering — a  leading  Democrat — and  once 
Secretary  of  the  Navy. 

CRAFT,  EDWARD.  Long  in  the  Russia  and  Swedish  trade,  on  Han- 
cock's Wharf — near  Wm.  Parsons,  a  very  different  kind  of  man. 

He  bought  the  house  in  Pearl-street,  formerly  owned  and  occupied  by  Chief- 
Justice  Parsons,  and  afterwards  by  Mrs.  Brown,  as  a  boarding-house — the 
celebrated  Mrs.  Brown,  who  had  kept  the  house  over  the  Fire  and  Marine 
Insurance  Office.  This  house  was  resorted  to  by  Barnabas  Hedge,  of  Plymouth, 
an  extensive  merchant,  ship-owner,  and  underwriter,  of  Plymouth  ;  Dr.  Na- 
thaniel Haven,  of  Portsmouth,  and  John  his  brother,  (father  of  the  Havens  in 
New  York  ;)  Reuel  Williams,  lateU.  S.  Senator  from  Maine  ;  Isaac  Adams, 
of  Portland;  besides  resident  city  boarders — among  others,  Wm.  B.  Smith 
and  Oliver  Putnam,  who  left  nearly  one  hundred  thousand  dollars  for  the 
public  schools  in  Newburvport.     Good  whist  was  played  there. 

CUNNINGHAM,  ANDREW /ND  CHARLES.  Brothers— partners.  Sons 
of  the  late  Andrew  Cunningham,  long  Secretary  of  the  Mass.  Mutual  Insurance 
Office — then  the  only  office  of  the  kind.     A  most  worthy  Bostonian. 

CURTIS,  CHARLES  P.  A  kind  and  good  lawyer.  Studied  with  William 
Pullman.  Son  of  Thomas  Curtis,  formerly  Loring  &  Curtis,  merchants  and 
underwriters. 

CURTIS,  THOMAS  B.  Brother  of  Charles.  Of  Curtis  &  Greenough, 
in  the  Russia  trade.  When  in  the  U.  S.  Navy — a  midshipman — he  was  in 
the  action  of  the  Chesapeake  and  Shannon. 

GUSHING,  JOHN  P.  Made  his  fortune  in  Canton,  in  connexion  with 
James  and  Thomas  H.  Perkins.  On  his  return,  he  married  the  only  and 
worthy  daughter  of  the  late  Rev.  Dr.  Gardiner,  of  Trinity  Church. 

His  house  at  Watertown  is  built  to  combine  comfort  with  elegance — being 


14  THE    ARISTOCRACY    OP    BOSTON. 

double ;  a  house  within  a  house — to  be  warm  and  cool.  The  best  houses 
in  New  York  were  examined,  for  any  thing  that  might  improve,  in  ornament 
or  use,  on  what  was  known  in  Boston.  His  spacious  and  elegant  grounds  are 
open  to  the  public.     He  is  liberal  to  those  he  employs. 

When  the  assessors  of  Watertown  called  upon  him  to  know  on  what  sura 
he  should  be  taxed,  he  asked  what  was  the  whole  amount  of  the  tax  to  be 
raised.  The  answer  being  given,  he  told  them  to  charge  the  whole  amount 
to  him. 

CaSHING,  THOMAS  P.  Son  of  the  Rev.  John  Gushing,  of  Ashburn^ 
ham,  (formerly  of  the  firm  of  Tuckerman,  Rogers  &  Gushing,  large  importers 
of  British  dry  goods,  and  lately  of  the  firm  of  Gushing  &  Wilkinson.)  He  is 
a  man  of  influence  in  bank,  insurance,  and  rail-road  operations,  being  cautious 
and  sagacious. 

CUTLER,  PLINY.  From  Brookfield.  (Formerly  of  the  firm  of  Whitney, 
Cutler  &  Hammond,  the  most  extensive  wholesale  grocers  in  the  city,  at  the 
corner  of  Broad  and  Central-streets.)     They  were  of  the  "  Algerines.'' 

Mr.  Cutler  is  a  zealous  orthodox  Congregation alist,  and  commendable  for 
many  good  and  charitable  deeds  and  judicious  management. 

DANA,  SAMUEL.  (Late  Dana  &  Fenno,  stock  and  exchange  brokers.) 
Married  the  only  daughter  of  the  late  Edmund  Winchester.  [See  Winchester.] 

DALTON,  PETER  ROE.  Son  of  the  Cashier  of  the  old  U.  S.  Branch 
Bank,  in  the  building  afterwards  bought  by  the  State  Bank.  Mr.  Dalton  was 
of  the  firm  of  Richard  D.  Tucker  &  Co.,  a  respectable  commission  house  on 
India-street,  for  many  years. 

Mr.  Tucker  was  formerly  partner  of  Rufus  Davenport — Davenport  &  Tucker. 

James  Dalton,  Cashier  of  the  Man.  and  Mech.  Bank,  (formerly  zVtherton  & 
Dalton,  importers  of  British  dry  goods,  is  another  brother.) 

Henry  Dalton,  Secretary  of  the  Providence  Rail-Road,  another. 

DAVIS,  JAMES.  An  industrious  and  worthy  coppersmith  in  Union-street, 
who  deserves  and  has  earned  every  dollar  he  is  worth.  Go  from  his  old  stand 
a  few  steps  to  Hanover-street,  you  come  to  the  house  where  Franklin  was 
bred,  not  born.     The  tallow-chandler's  shop  is  turned  into  a  bonnet  store. 

DAVIS,  JOHN.  Late  and  long  Judge  of  the  U.  S.  District  Court.  He 
died  lately  in  a  good  old  age,  respected  for  his  character  and  literature.  He 
was  from  Plymouth,  and  editor  of  "  Morton's  Memorial." 

Mrs.  VVm.  Minot  is  one  of  his  daughters. 

DAVIS,  SAMUEL.  From  Nevvburyport.  Long  an  importer  and  retailer 
of  jewelry,  military  goods,  and  combs,  until  they  were  made  in  this  country. 
He  collected  large  quantities  of  horn  tips  for  shipment  to  England. 

DERBY,  RICHARD  C.  From  Salem.  An  amateur,  known  as  "Dickey 
Derby,"  in  the  Fine  Arts,  and  very  fond  of  music.  Charles  Matthews  was 
**  at  home"  at  his  house. 

Mrs.  Derby  has  long  been  celebrated  for  her  beauty. 

DEXTER,  FRANKLIN.  A  lawyer.  U.  S.  District  Attorney.  Only  son 
of  the  late  Samuel  Dexter,  whom  Franklin  resembles.  He  is  highly  respected 
as  a  lawyer,  a  man,  and  man  of  taste.  He  married  a  daughter  of  the  late 
Judge  Prescott,  the  father  of  the  historian,  and  son  of  Col.  Prescott,  who  com- 
manded the  troops  at  the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill. 

DIXON,  THOMAS.  Born  in  London.  Son  of  a  Scotchman.  Came  first 
to  Boston  as  partner  of  the  house  of  Van  Baggen,  Parker  &  Dixon,  of  Amster- 
dam, to  got  commission  business  to  that  house.  He  is  a  Dutch  Consul.  Has 
skill  in  music,  and  can  play  many  droll  tricks.  He  married  the  celebrated 
daughter  of  the  late  Benjamin  P.  Homer, 


THE    ARISTOCRACY    OP    BOSTON.  15 

DORR,  JOHN^.  A  retired  merchant.  Forraeily  in  the  India  and  North- 
V/ est  Coast  Trade.  His  brother  Joseph— a  partner  with  whom  he  was  con- 
cerned— a  bachelor,  lived  abroad,  fond  of  Paris  and  London. 

DRAPER,  DANIEL.  Formerly  a  victualler  ;  then  of  Draper  &  Hudson^ 
in  the  "  Bite,"  fruit  and  provision  dealers,  chiefly  pork,  and  large  lemon  dealers. 

DVVIGHT,  EDMUND.  From  Springfield.  Married  a  daughter  of  the  late 
Samuel  Eliot ;  and  has  made  large  donations  to  carry  out  Horace  Mann's 
plan  of  normal  schools. 

Thirty-five  years  ago,  James  and  Henry  Dwight,  of  Springfield,  were  pro- 
bably tlie  most  extensive  country  traders  that  came  to  Boston.  They  had  stores 
in  Northampton  and  other  country  towns.  Their  heavy  goods  went  in  sloops 
up  the  Connecticut  River.  As  the_younger  branches  of  the  family  came  for- 
ward, they  spread.     An  importing  house  was  established  in  Boston. 

The  beloved  and  lamented  William  H.  Dwight  was  lost  when  the  Albion 
was  wrecked  on  the  coast  of  Ireland. 

The  Bank  at  Geneva,  N.  Y.,  was  established  by  them.  One  of  the  family 
was  President. 

Edmund  has  not  toiled  in  the  drudgery  of  active  business.  He  is  clear- 
headed, and  sagacious  in  counsel.  He  always  liked  the  Suffolk  corner,  to  the 
annoyance,  it  has  been  said,  of  his  father-in-law,  who  had  given  close,  active 
attention  to  business. 

ELIOT,  SAMUEL  A.  Son  of  the  late  Samuel  Eliot.  Studied  divinity 
at  Cambridge,  but  has  not  been  ordained.  Ex-mayor,  and  promoted  useful 
reforms  in  the  Fire  Department.  Like  his  late  lamented  brother,  William  H., 
he  is  fond  of  music,  and  is  President  of  the  Boston  Academy.  He  married  a 
daughter  of  the  late  Theodore  Lyman. 

William  H.  was  the  prime  mover  in  building  the  Tremont  House.  He  gave 
a  great  impulse  to  musical  taste.  He  had  heard  Italian  music  in  Italy,  and 
had  loved  it,  especially  Rossini's,  in  its  native  language.  The  adaptations  of 
Thompson,-  with  their  delightful  poetry,  had  lost  the  charm  of  Rossini  and 
Mozart. 

Samuel  Eliot  was  a  true  Sir  Oliver  Oldschool — with  cocked  hat,  breeches, 
open  bosom,  and  large  ruffle  ;  no  cloak  or  over-coat  in  the  coldest  weather ; 
and  of  stalely  politeness.  Sir  Samuel ! — could  it  have  been  I  The  value  of 
wealth  is  little  here.  We  cannot  found  a  family.  We  have  no  law  of  entail. 
He  little  knew  how  many  of  his  family  were  Natures  noblemen — and  would 
receive  more  precious  honors  from  lhe\v  fellow  citizens,  than  his  wealth  could 
confer  upon  them.  Like  other  sensible  men,  he  loved  old  wine,  old  books, 
and  imported  dry  goods  in  the  old  store  at  the  west  corner  of  little  old  Wil- 
son's Lane,  at  the  entrance  to  old  Cornhill  from  Old  Dock  Square ;  and  died, 
the  only  American  we  have  ever  known  who  deplored  the  want  of  an  aristo- 
cracy. He  lived  in  Tremont-street,  opposite  the  stone  chapel,  or  King's  Cha- 
pel, and  had  a  good  library. 

FAIRBANKS,  STEPHEN.  From  Dedham.  (Fairbanks,  Loring  &  Co., 
old  hardware  dealers,  long  in  Union-street.) 

FALES,  SAMUEL.  Began  a  retailer  of  dry  goods  in  Washington-street ; 
then  wholesale-man  in  dry  goods ;  and  in  the  African  trade  with  Samuel  San- 
ford,  (not  slave  trade ;)    now  President  of  the  Union  Bank. 

FAY,  RICHARD  S.  Son  of  the  Hon.  S.  P.  P.  Fay.  Judge  of  Probate 
for  Middlesex  County,  in  which  office  he  succeeded  that  corrupt  Judge,  James 
Prescott,  of  Groton,  who  was  tried  before  the  Legislature  in  1816 — and  broken, 
though  defended  by  Daniel  Webster. 

Richard  S.  has  the  confidence  of  several  large  corporations,  and  is  their 
treasurer. 


16  THE    ARISTOCRACY    OF    DOSiON, 

More  than  twenty  years  ago,  Judge  Fay  co-operated  with  the  late  Abraham 
Bigelow — excellent  gentleman  ! — long  Clerk  of  the  Courts  in  Middle-sex  Coun- 
ty— to  renovate  that  beautiful  Episcopal  Church  on  Cambridge  Common,  (op- 
posite the  Colleges,)  after  it  had  long  been  without  worship,  and  in  a  state  of 
utter  delapidation.  To  their  honor  be  it  remembered,  all  the  officers  of  the 
College,  though  Unitarian,  contributed. 

FROTHINGHAM,  SAMUEL.  An  experienced  bank  officer,  formerly  of 
the  State  Hank  ;  transferred  to  the  late  U.  S.  Branch ;  now  again  in  the 
State,  as  President.  A  great  and  deserved  favorite  with  the  late  William 
Gray. 

FOSTER,  JAMES  H.  Has  dealt  long,  steadily,  and  quietly,  in  paper- 
hangings.  A  most  worthy  man.  Connected  by  marriage  with  the  family  of 
John  Quincy  Adams. 

FRANCIS,  EBENEZER.  A  shrewd  and  close  financier.  Long  Presi- 
dent  of  the  Suffijlk  Bank,  and  author  of  the  deposit  system  that  has  conduced 
so  much  to  preserve  a  sound  currency  to  the  New-England  States.  Aided 
greatly  in  the  projects  of  the  late  Uriah  Cutting.  Married  a  daughter  of  the 
late  Israel  Thorndike. 

;v  GARDINER,  WM.  H.  Son  of  the  late  Rev.  Dr.  Gardiner,  of  Trinity 
Church.  He  is  a  lawyer — of  good  talents,  and  amiable,  gentlemanly  manners. 
Married  a  daughter  of  Thomas  H.  Perkins. 

Dr.  Gardiner  was  a  man  of  talent — a  good  classical  scholar — and  a  fine 
reader,  when  good  readers  were  scarce.  He  was  attach'ed  to  the  Episcopal 
Church;  far  from  bigoted,  and  also  free  from  cant  and  fanaticism.  He  had 
studied  under  that  rare  old  Grecian  and  walking  library — Dr.  Parr. 

Dr.  Doan« — now  Bishop  of  New  Jersey — was  assistant  minister  of  Trinity 
until  Dr.  Gardiner's  death,  in  England. 

Dr.  Doane  married  the  widow  of  James  Perkins,  Jun.,  the  only  child  of 
James,  (of  the  great  house  of  Perkins,)  with  a  large  fortune. 

GARDNER,  JOHN  L.  Son  of  the  late  S.  P.  Gardner,  a  merchant,  origi- 
nally from  Salem.  John  L.  married  a  daughter  of  the  late  Joseph  Peabody, 
of  Salem,  who  became  the  most  extensive  merchant  in  that  place  after  William 
Gray  left  it.  John  L.  inherited  a  large  property  from  his  father — and  his 
wife's  fortune  must  have  been  very  large.     He  is  a  good  merchant. 

GARDNER,  HENRY.  Resides  in  Dorchester,  on  the  lower  road  to 
Quincy.  He  is  called  Dr.  Gardner,  having  been  bred  a  physician,  though  he 
does  not  practice.  He  is  son  of  Henry  Gardner,  late  of  Stowe,  a  member  of 
the  Provincial  Congress,  and  afterwards  many  years  Treasurer  of  the  Com- 
monwealth.    His  fortune  has  grown  under  judicious  and  safe  management. 

GASSETT,  HENRY.  Began  the  importing  business  with  PhineasUpham, 
as  Gassett  &  Upham,   afterwards  Henry  Gassett  &  Co. 

GIBBS,  MISS   SARAH.     A  benevolent  lady,  and  zealous  Episcopalian. 

Gibbs  &  Channing,  of  Newport,  (uncle  of  Dr.  Channing  )  made  a  large 
fortune.  Before  the  act  prohibiting  the  slave-trade  took  effiict  in  1816,  they 
furnished  cargoes  to  vessels  in  the  African  trade,  and  received  cargoes  of  pro- 
duce from  Cuba  in  payment  for  their  advances.  Other  houses  in  Newport 
9nd  Bristol  pursued  a  similar  trade.  The  De  Wolfs,  of  Bristol,  were  always 
said  to  follow  that  detested  traffic  without  any  compunction.  Much  of  the 
ancient  wealth  of  Newport  and  Bristol  may  be  traced  to  this  source. 

GODDARD,  NATHANIEL.  From  "Far  down  east,"  where  he  was 
well  versed  in  the  trade  on  the  lines.  He  has  been  a  large  ship-owner,  in  the 
Baltic  and  freighting  business  ;  a  large  underwriter ;  and  long  President  of 
the  New  England  Bank — when  he  said,  that  every  man  who  failed,  ought  to 
be  sent  to  the  State  Prison.     He  was  a  man  of  great  energy  and  stern  will. 


THE   ARISTOCRACY    OF    BOSTON,  17 

Mr.  Gould — long  celebrated  as  head  master  of  the  Latin  School — married  a 
daughter  of  Mr.  Goddard,  and  joined  him  in  some  business. 

William  Goddard — a  brother — pursued  a  similar  shipping  business  with 
'*real  success.  He  died,  after  a  short  sickness,  about  the  same  time  with  Fran- 
cis Stanton. 

GOODWIN,  OZIAS.  Son  of  the  late  Capt.  Ozias  Goodwin,  and  cousin  of 
Ex-Mayor  Chapman.  Served  his  clerkship  with  Henry  Lee,  of  Joseph  & 
Henry  Lee,  in  the  Calcutta  trade.  Was  afterwards  a  successful  supercargo 
m  the  same  trade  Inherited  property  from  his  father,  and  married  a  cousin 
Chapman. 

GORHAM.  BENJAMIN.  Son  of  the  late  Nathaniel  Gorham,  of  Cliarlea- 
town.  [See  P.  C.  Brooks.J  Studied  law  with  Artemas  Ward,  and  was  Mem- 
ber of  Congress  until  he  became  tired  of  it.  Whenever  he  would  examine  a 
case,  and  give  an  opinion,  no  opinion  had  more  weight.    He  married  a  Lowell. 

GRANT,  ANNA  P.  Widow  of  Patrick  Grant — a  fine-looking  Scotchman, 
who  went  from  Boston  to  England  nearly  forty  years  ago.  All  were  lost  on 
the  return  passage,     Mrs.  Grant  is  a  daughter  of  the  late  Jonathan  Mason, 

GRAY,  JOHN  C,  Son  of  the  late  VVm.  Gray.  Married  a  daughter  of  the 
late  Samuel  V.  Gardner — by  whom,  as  well  as  his  father,  he  had  a  fortune 
He  has  not  embarked  much  in  trade.  Is  studious  and  retiring,  and  is  a 
contributor  to  the  "  North-American  Review."  He  studied  law  with  Samuel 
Dexter,  and  has  been  State  Senator  several  times, 

GRAY,  FRANCIS  C.  A  bachelor.  Studied  law  with  the  late  eminent 
Wm.  Prescott,  but  has  practiced  little  except  in  his  late  father's  affairs.  He 
has  been  in  the  State  Legislature ;  and  is  devoted  to  literature  and  political 
economy,    in  the  protection  interest. 

GRAY,  HORACE.  The  youngest  son  of  the  late  Wm.  Gray.  Married 
first,  Miss  Upham,  of  Brookfield,  a  neice  of  Thomas  Upham ;  and  on  her 
death,  a  daughter  of  the  late  Samuel  P.  Gardner — with  a  fortune. 

On  coming  of  age,  he  went  freely  into  business — the  Baltic,  French,  and 
India  trades ;  afterwards  into  the  iron  works  on  the  Mill  Dam.  From  this 
he  extended  in  the  iron  business ;  and  at  the  time  of  his  late  failure,  his  house 
was  concerned  the  most  deeply  in  the  iron  manufacture  of  any  establishment 
in  New  England.  They  owned  the  iron  works  at  Pembroke,  Me.,  (originally 
built  by  Jonathan  Bartlett,  once  President  of  the  Passamaquoddy  Bank,  at 
Eastport,  which  failed  about  25  years  ago  ;)  an  establishment  at  South  Boston  ; 
one  in  Clinton  Co.,  N.  Y. ;  and  yet  another  at  Saugerties,  N.  Y. 

His  partner,  Francis,  is  a  nephew  of  Francis  the  bookseller,  formerly  Muu- 
roe  &  Francis.  He  was  once  a  clerk  for  the  father  of  Horace  Gray,  and  is  a 
very  worthy  man. 

It  is  ascertained,  that  the  debts  against  Horace  Gray  &  Co.  exceed  a  million, 
falling  heavily  on  the  iron  works  and  coal  dealers  in  different  parts  of  the  coun- 
try. It  is  feared,  from  the  heavy  nature  of  the  property,  and  the  sacrifices 
that  must  be  made  in  the  sale  of  it,  that  the  dividend  will  be  small. 

The  iron  works  on  the  Mill  Dam — owned  by  Francis  C.  Gray,  Horace  Gray 
&  Co. — and  the  estate  of  Paul  Moody,  have  passed  to  Wm.  Appleton,  by  whom 
they  are  carried  on. 

Mr.  Gray  has  lately  occupied  the  house  in  Brighton,  formerly  owned  and 
lived  in  by  Commodore  Downes.  This  was  the  northerly  house  of  the  two 
built  by  Joseph  Haven  and  Joseph  Wiggin,  The  other  was  occupied  many 
years  by  Geo.  Mannus,  Esq.,  British  Consul. 

William  R.  Gray — the  eldest  son  of  William,  and  who  usually  managed 
his  father's  business  in  Boston,  while  he  lived  in  Salem — died  some  years  ago. 
He  married  a  daughter  of  the  late  Judge  Clay,  of  Georgia,   who  then  lived 


16  THE    ARISTOCRACI   OP    BOSTON. 

on  his  plantation  near  Rinborough.  Became  a  Baptist  preacher,  and  was  called 
to  succeed  the  late  Dr.  Samuel  Stillman,  at  the  First  Baptist  Church  in  Back- 
street;  and  for  a  time  occupied  the  house  in  whicij  Dr.  S.  had  lived  in  Salem- 
9treet,  opposite  Mr.  Edes.  the  ship-bread  baker,  (father  of  the  Rev,  Hy.  Edes, 
afterwards  a  Unitarian  minister  in  Providence,  R.  I.) 

William  R.  was  a  merchant  in  Boston,  principally  in  tne  French,  Baltic, 
and  India  trades. 

Henry  Gray — the  second  son — studied  law  with  Artemas  Ward,  in  Charles-  , 
town,  but  never  practiced.  Married  one  of  the  beautiful' daughters  of  James 
Pierce,  Clerk  of  the  Municipal  Court — of  whom  Joseph  Bonaparte  said,  she 
was  the  handsomest  woman  he  had  seen  in  America.  He  also  was  a  ship- 
owner, and  in  similar  extensive  foreign  business,  and  a  Director  in  the  State 
Bank.  He  resided  in  Dorchester;  a  member  of  Dr.  Codman's  church;  and  a 
liberal  benefactor  to  the  Andover  and  other  religious  orthodox  institutions. 
He  now  lives  in  New  York. 

Mr.  Gray's  only  daughter — of  noted  piety  and  l>enevolence- — was  married 
to  Col,  Samuel  Swett.     [See  Swett.] 

William  Gray — or  as  he  was  fam'Marly  termed,  **  Old  Billy  Gray," — was 
born  in  Lynn,  in  the  year  1750.  ^t  the  age  of  15,  he  went  to  Salem,  as  clerk 
to  a  Mr.  Gardner.  After  four  years,  Mr.  Gardner  died,  and  young  Gray  be- 
came clerk  to  Richard  Derby,  a  Provincial  Counsellor  of  King  George  HI., 
and  eldest  brother  of  the  late  Elias  Hasket  Derby,  Esq.  As  soon  as  he  was 
of  age,  he  owned  part  of  a  vessel  with  Mr.  Derby — his  share  being  the  result 
of  his  savings  while  a  clerk. 

He  married  Miss  Chipman,  a  sister  of  Ward  Chipman,  since  a  Judge  in  thd 
British  Province  of  New  Brunswick.  She  was  a  cousin  of  Peter  C.  Brooks, 
and  proved  one  of  the  best  of  wives  and  mothers. 

After  the  war  of  the  Revolution  had  ended  in  the  peace  of  1783,  he  extended 
in  foreign  trade  with  varied  success.  Once  be  had  lost  all — but  kept  on,  and 
regained,  with  unimpaired  credit. 

His  high  integrity,  and  reputation  for  sagacity,  gave  confidence  to  many 
retired  persons  in  Salem,  Marblehead,  and  other  towns,  who  placed  large  sums 
with  him  at  a  low  rate  of  interest,  in  preference  to  public  institutions  at  a 
higher  rate.  On  one  occasion,  after  he  removed  to  Boston,  more  than  thirty 
thousand  black  dollars  were  brought  to  him  from  Marblehead,  which  he  had 
refused  to  take  at  six  per  cent,  nearly  forty  years  before.  The  owner  had 
kept  them  safely  in  a  cellar  ! 

When  William  Gray  left  Salem,  his  property  wa«  valued  at  three  millions 
of  dollars,  on  a  careful  estimate  made  by  the  late  \^w.  0  l-^'.vett  and  Jo.shua 
Bates,  now  of  Barings'  house,  London,  then  his  clerks.  About  that  time,  he 
owned  and  loaded  more  than  forty  vessels  at  his  own  risk  :  he  was  besides 
a  large  underwriter,  taking  almost  desperate  risks,  in  the  face  of  British  and 
French  seizures.  His  removal  seems  to  have  been  necessary,  even  on  the 
score  of  commissions;  but  political  causes  were  not  wanting.  The  opening 
to  Tonningen  was  for  a  while  vastly  profitable;  and  the  war  of  1812 — when 
he  had  large  stocks  of  foreign  goods — added  greatly  to  his  wealth.  During 
that  war,  he  advanced  largely  to  the  Government. 

On  tiie  return  of  peace,  he  continued  business  as  formerly,  but  often  with 
loss,  for  the  nations  on  the  continent  of  Europe  had  become  their  own  mer- 
chants. But,  he  hated  to  lay  up  a  vessel,  or  see  one  of  his  old  captains  unem- 
ployed. 

At  the  time  referred  to,  Joshua  Bates,  whose  house  of  Beckford  &  Bates 
had  not  been  successful,  was  sent  to  London  to  act  as  his  agent,  and  the  agen't 
of  his  sons*     This  led  by  degrees  to  his  connexion  with  the  Barings.     A  stron- 


THE   ARISTOCRACIT   OF   BOSTON.  19 

ger  credit  than  that  of  any  individual  stranger    would  be  often  necessary  in 
London,  in  large  operations. 

Mr.  Gray  retired  from  the  presidency  of  the  Branch  Bank,  and  was  succeeded 
by  the  late  Gardiner  Greene.  He  soon  after  withdrew  from  business  as  far  as 
he  could,  and  died  in  1823. 

Mr.  Gray  was  simple  and  unostentatious  in  his  habits,  an  early  riser,  and 
usually  wrote  his  letters  and  orders  before  breakfast.  Weiss,  the  barber,  in 
Congress-street,  called  on  him,  summer  and  winter,  at  5  o'clock.  On  one  occa- 
sion, Weiss  told  him  he  was  likely  to  lose  his  old  stand,  nearly  opposite  the 
Post-Office.  Unsolicited,  he  offered  him  the  money  to  buy  it.  (The  son  of 
Weiss  is  a  Unitarian  Minister  in  New  Bedfjrd.)  In  such  spontaneous,  un- 
looked-for acts,  Mr.  Gray  loved  to  do  good— and  no  one  did  them  with  more 
delicacy.  It  was  his  nature  to  help  those  whom  he  thought  were  trying  to 
help  themselves.  On  one  occasion,  he  offered  $50,000  to  a  person,  almost  a 
stranger  to  him,  to  sare  him  from  stopping — and  without  security  ! 

As  his  sons  came  of  age,  he  gave  each  ample  means,  that  they  might  start 
and  work  for  themselves. 

His  long  experience  had  made  him  familiar  with  the  commerce  of  the  globe. 
Tn  conducting  his  share  of  it,  he  was  the  soul  of  honor — and  American, 
heart  and  soul.  How  that  American  spirit  must  have  exulted  at  the  capture 
of  the  Guerriere  /  He  knew  that,  but  for  him,  the  ConstUution  could  not  have 
been  fitted  out.  The  navy  agent — Colonel  Binney — another  noble  spirit,  had 
exhausted  his  means,  and  broken  his  private  credit.  Regardless  alike  of  the 
denunciations  of  the  public  press,  and  the  scornings,  batings,  and  badgerings 
of  the  junto  at  the  Suffolk  Office,  he  stood  for  his  country — and  the  Consti- 
tution went  to  sea,  to  break  the  charm  of  invincihilify  / 

Mr.  Gray  being  thus  driven  from  the  Federal  Party,  he  was  chosen  Lieuten- 
ant-Governor of  the  State,  when  Elbridge  Gerry  was  chosen  Governor  over 
('hi  istopher  Gore; 

A  charter  was  then  obtained  for  the  State  Bank,  with  a  capital  of  three  mil- 
lions'. Until  then,  a  charter  for  a  bank  in  Boston,  with  an  odor  of  Republican- 
ism, could  not  be  obtained.  Mr.  Gray  was  chosen  first  President  of  the  State 
Bank. 

The  men  who  had  denounced  Mr.  Gray,  gave  Commodore  Hull  a  public 
dinner. 

After  the  peace,  and  Treaty  of  Ghent,  Mr.  Gray  presided  at  tlie  public  din- 
ner given  to  John  Quincy  Adams — the  venerable  father,  John  Adams,  tremu- 
lous with  age,  seated  first  on  his  left.  A  noble  trio  !  the  first  Merchant  in  the 
country — the  President  past — and  the  President  to  come  ! 

In  his  daily  intercourse,  Mr.  Gray  was  marked  for  affability.  Everybody 
knew  him,  and  he  had  a  word  for  everybody.  The  calls  of  the  poorest  man 
had  no  put  offs.  His  eyes  glistened  with  delight  when  he  could  contrive 
employment  for  an  old  acquaintance ;  and  if  from  Lynn,  all  the  family  affairs 
were  subjects  of  inquiry.  To  many  beginning  life,  he  trusted  goods  when 
they  could  not  get  them  elsewhere — and  thus  started  them.  He  met  with 
many  lr>sses  by  this  practice,  and  often  other  injury,  but  he  would  continue  it 
His  refusal  to  any  application,  was—"  Well,  1 11  think  on't." 

On  his  removal  to  Boston,  he  bought  for  his  residence  the  mansion  of  the 
deceased  (lov.  Sullivan.  He  intimated  to  the  executor  of  Gov.  S.'s  will,  his 
wish  to  purchase  it,  ?/  the  extate  should  be  f(yr  sale.  When  he  had  decided  to 
sell  it.  he  named  the  price — thirty  or  forty  thousand  dollars.  Mr.  Gray  sent  a 
check  for  the  money. 

His  residerjce  in  Salem,  built  by  him,  has  since  been  kept  as  the  EsEex  Cof- 
fee-House. 


20  THE    ARISTOCRACY    OP    BOSTOW, 

GRAY,  SAMUEL  C.  Son  of  the  late  SamuePGray,  of  Medford,  brother 
of  William,  who  had  been  a  successful  merchant  in  Salem,  and  married  a  sister 
of  Judge  Chipman,  of  the  Province  of  New  Brunswick.  They  inherited  a 
good  property  from  their  father,  and  are  quiet,  careful  merchants — minding 
their  own  business — chiefly  in  the  Baltic  trade. 

GRAY,  JOHN — Called,  for  distinction,  '*  French  John  Gray."  He  is  the 
son  of  a  Boston  merchant,  and  resided  a  long  time  in  France,  (Bordeaux,  we 
think,)  where  he  acquired  his  property  ;  and  on  his  return,  was  distinguished 
by  this  name.     For  many  years  he  has  done  little  business. 

GRAY,  THOMAS — Of  Hawea,  Gray  &  Co.,  for  many  years  prosperous 
wholesale  grocers  in  India-street ;  now  ow  Central  Wharf,  commission  mer- 
chants, though  our  old  friend.  Prince  Havves,  still  haunts  the  tea  sales  in  Nev/ 
York. 

GREENE,  MRS.  GARDINER.  Widow  of  the  late  Gardiner  Greene, 
(who,  at  his  death,  was  considered  the  richest  man  in  Boston,)  is  a  daughter 
of  Copley  the  painter,  and  sister  of  the  present  Lord  Lyndhurst,  ("  a  Boston 
boy,";  Lord  Chancellor  of  England.  Mr.  Greene  inherited  a  good  property, 
partly  in  Demarara,  and  increased  it  largely  by  successful  traffic,  before  that 
colony  was  ceded  by  Holland  to  Great  Britain, 

One  of  the  sons — Wm.  P.  Greene — who  resides  at  Norwich,  Conn.,  studied 
law  with  Charles  Jackson  and  Samuel  Hubbard,  (then  in  partnership  :)  is  en- 
gaged in  manufactures,  and  a  main  promoter  of  the  Norwich  and  Worcester 
Rail-Road.  Judge  Hubbard  married  one  of  Mr.  Greene's  daughters,  and  is  a 
principal  trustee  of  the  estate. 

Gardiner  Greene's  seat  on  Pemberton  Hill  was  worthy  of  admiration.  The 
large  garden  arose  in  terraces  to  the  top  of  the  hill,  there  commanding  a  noble 
view  of  the  town,  the  harbor,  the  islands,  and  Boston  Light-House,  Massa- 
chusetts Bay.  It  was  the  sole  charge  of  the  waggish  Wyatt,  an  old  Scotch 
gardener,  who  did  not  spare  his  jokes  on  any  oddities  of  his  employer,  even 
to  his  fondness  for  string  beans,  of  which  he  had  to  provide  successive  fortnight 
crops  till  late  in  the  fall.  It  was  kept  in  fine  order,  and  liberally  open  to  stran- 
gers. Wyatt's  lodge  was  at  the  foot  of  the  steps,  where  he  had  always  a 
^^  suf  of  George  Murdock's  choice  old  Cognac  to  offer  those  whom  he  liked 
well  enough  to  ask  in.      This  gardener  was  not  green. 

GREENWOOD,  W.  P.  A  retired  dentist ;  father  of  the  late  Rev.  F.  W.  P, 
Greenwood,  successor  of  Dr.  Freeman  at  Stone  (or  King's)  Chapel. 

Dr.  Greenwood  operated  successfully  for  himself,  but  rather  harshly  for  hi» 
subjects — as  the  writer  of  this  has  thought — many  years  in  Friend-street. 

GORE,  JOHN.  Lives  in  Roxbury.  Son  of  the  late  John  Gore,  who  was 
brother  to  Gov.  Christopher  Gore,  and  a  very  large  and  successful  importer  of 
British  dry  goods,  of  the  firm  of  Gore,  Miller  &  Parker. 

Samuel  R.  Miller — in  his  prime,  one  of  the  finest-looking  men  in  Boston — 
nijured  his  health  by  exposure  on  the  frontiers  of  Canada.  He  had  shipped 
large  quantities  of  goods  from  England  to  Montreal,  to  be  ready  for  an  opening 
on  the  repeal  of  the  non-intercourse  act.  He  suffered  long  a  martyr  to  dys- 
pepsia.    Josiah  Quincy,  Jun.,  Mayor,  married  his  only  daughter. 

The  late  Governor  Gore  effected  a  great  improvement  in  the  vegetable  and 
fruit  market  of  Boston.  He  had  resided  near  London  several  years  as  one  of 
the  Commissioners  under  Jay's  treaty.  Covent-Garden  Market  did  not  escape 
his  eye.  On  his  return,  he  built  an  elegant  seat  in  Waltham,  and  laid  out 
extensive  grounds  for  gardening.  First  he  sent  presents  to  his  epicurean 
friends,  William  Paine  and  others;  but  he  had  a  great  surplus.  His  gardener 
soon  stood  in  the  market  with  the  finest  and  earliest  vegetables  that  had  been 
seen,  and  some  new  varieties. 


THE    ARISTOCRACY    OP    BOSTON.  81 

Hill,  uf  West  Cambridge,  Williams,  of  Roxbury,  and  others,  soon  followed 
ibe  example,  J.  O.  Reid,  a  lame  man,  (now  a  wealthy  ship-chandler  and  ship- 
owner on  South  street,  New  York,)  stood  for  M.  Williams,  of  Roxbury,  a  bro- 
cher  of  John  D. 

HAMMOND,  DANIEL.  The  former  able  and  most  efficient  man  in  the 
house  of  Whitney,  Cutler  &  Hammond.  As  honorable  as  he  was  able.  [See 
Plcxv  Cutler  and  Ghorge  Hallet.]  Since  that  firm  was  dissolved,  some  of 
his  speculations  have  i).»t  been  fortunate.  He  occupied  a  house  in  Pearl  near 
High-street,  where  Jones's  boarding-house  formerly  stood. 

HAMMOND,  SARAH.  Widow  of  the  late  Samuel  Hammond,  long  in 
the  boot  and  shoe  business  in  Ann-street  and  Merchants'-rovv;  and  in  hides 
and  leather,  with  Samuel  Train  ;  and  a  private  underwriter.  The  Rev.  Dr. 
Palfrey  married  one  daughter,  and  N.  P.  Russell  another.  A  son  was  of  the 
firm  of  Svvett  &  Hammond — John  Svvett,  of  "Squirrel  up  a  tree,"  in  Union- 
•itieet. 

HANCOCK,  JOHN.  Son  of  Eben.  Hancock,  and  nephew  of  John  Han- 
cock, President  of  Congress  at  the  signing  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence, 
and  Governor  of  Massachusetts.  John's  widow  married  Capt.  Scott,  master 
of  the  ship  Minerva,  the  onlv  ship  in  the  London  trade,  owned  by  Dr.  EUakim 
Morse,  wholesale  druggist,  in  Dock  Square.  Mrs.  Scott  continued  in  the 
noble  old  "Hancock  House,"  near  the  State  House,  on  which  estate  Samuel 
A.  Eliot's  house  now  stands.  Hancock's  Wharf,  (where  William  Parsons, 
Henry  Sigourney,  and  Edward  Craft  kept,  in  the  old  wooden  buildings,) 
belonged  to  Gov.  Hancock's  estate. 

The  present  John,  (very  long,  and  always  stoopingj  did  a  small  business 
as  agent  for  a  powder  company,  in  Merchants'  Row,  near  the  head  of  Cod- 
man's  Wharf,  and  opposite  Faneuil  Hall.     He  inherits  Gov.  Hancock's  estate. 

HASKINS,  RALPH.  A  retired  distiller.  Long  connected  with  the  late 
Oliver  Keating,  once  in  some  partnership  with  Theodore  Lyraan,  when  he  first 
came  from  near  Kennebunk  to  Boston.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Haskins,  of  the  Epis- 
•copal  Church,  is  a  nephew  of  Ralph. 

HAYWARD,  GEORGE.  Physician,  and  son  ot  the  late  Dr.  Hayward. 
He  inherited  a  good  property  from  his  father,  and  has  made  money  in  his  pro- 
fession, in  which  he  is  much  esteemed. 

HENSHAW,  DAVID.  Came  from  Leicester,  a  poor  ooy.  Served  his 
time  wth  George  Brinby,  (formerly  Dix  &  Brinby,)  on  the  south  side  of 
Faneuil  Hall,  in  the  wholesale  druggist  and  dye-stuff  business.  Began  for 
himself  in  State-street,  in  1815,  and  afterwards  united  his  brothers,  in  exten- 
sive business  in  the  same  line,  in  India-street.  He  established  various  che- 
mical works  in  Roxbury  and  at  South  Boston  ;  and  it  was  said,  at  the  time, 
that  he  was  the  only  wholesale  dealer  in  Boston,  of  practical  chemical  science. 

He  became  a  warm  politician  ;  furnished  means  for,  and  was  a  writer  in 
the  "Statesman/' — advocating,  first,  the  claims  of  Mr.  Crawford,  then  those  of 
Gen.  Jackson,  for  the  Presidency. 

He  was  made  Collector  of  the  Port  on  the  removal  of  Gen.  H.  A.  R.  Dear- 
born; and  afterwards  appointed  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  by  President  Tyler — 
but  this  appointment  was  not  confirmed. by  the  Senate. 

He  has  since  been  engaged  in  the  purchase  of  mineral  lands,  and  mining 
operations  for  copper,  on  Lake  Superior.  Those  associated  with  him,  have 
great  confidence  in  his  skill  and  energy. 

He  now  resides  at  Leicester,  a  martyr  to  the  gout.  Indomitable  energy  of 
character,  and  abstemious  habits,  sustain  him  under  great  suffering — great 
enough  to  break  down  common  men. 


22  THE    ARISTOCRACY    n?    BOSTON. 

HENSHAW,  JOHN.  Brother  of  David.  Wholesale  druggists  and  dye- 
stuff  dealers. 

HILL,  DAVID.  Long  a  small  grocer  in  Milk-street,  between  Atkinson 
and  Pearl.     Famed  for  "  dun  fish."" 

HOMER,  FITZHENRY.  Only  son  of  the  late  Benj.  r.  Homer.  Served 
his  time  with  Whltwell,  Bond  &  Co.  B.  P.  Homer  was  the  larijest  private 
general  underwriter  in  Boston — and  sometimes  in  the  Canton  trade.  He  was 
noted  for  fairness  and  promptness  in  the  payment  of  losses. 

HOOPER  ROBERT— HOOPER  SAMUEL— HOOPER  ROBi^CRT  C. 
Robert  and  John  Hooper,  fathers  of  the  above,  and  William  Reed,  their  brother- 
in-law,  were  the  principal  foreign  merchants  of  Marblehead. 

Wm.  Reed  was  a  zealous  orthodox  Congregationalist.  One  of  the  Hoopers 
removed  to  Boston — an  Episcopalian. 

HUMPHREY,  BENJAMIN.  Born  in  AVeymouth.  An  only  son.  Came 
young,  to  Boston,  and  served  with  Abraham  Wild.  Began  himself  in  Fore 
(now  Ann)  street — then  Humphrey  &  Clark,  on  Long  Wharf — in  the  salt  busi- 
ness, and  supplying  fishermen  with  salt  for  the  mackerel  and  Bank  fisheries, 
and  selling  the  cargoes  on  their  return.  He  has  always  been  a  shrewd,  careful, 
industrious  man. 

INCHES,  HENDERSON.  A  retired  merchant,  and  long  owner  of  Russia 
Wharf.     Inherited  an  estate  from  his  father. 

INGERSOLL,  JAMES.  An  intelligent  merchant.  Central  Wharf  Has 
been  much  abroad  as  supercargo  to  different  parts  of  Europe. 

JACKSON  CHARLES  L.  L.  D.— JACKSON  JAMES— JACKSON 
PATRICK  TRACY.  Sons  of  Jonathan  Jackson,  late  of  Newburyport.  He 
had  an  office  on  or  near  the  corner  of  Bromfield's-lane,  forty-five  years  ago, 
as  Commissioner  under  the  General  Government.  A  quick,  small  gentleman 
in  black,  of  the  old  school. 

Charles  studied  law  with  the  late  Theophilus  Parsons,  v/hn  said  of  him,  that 
"he  was  bringing,  up  a  young  hawk,  to  pick  out  his  own  eyes."  He  opened 
an  office  on  Pemberton  Hill,  near  the  late  Eben.  Gay — where  Francis  Blan- 
cbard  was  associated  with  him.  He  removed  into  the  Lowell  building,  near 
the  then  new  Court  House,  constructed  by  John  Lowell  for  law  offices  ;  and 
on  the  death  of  Blanchard,  invited  Samuel  Hubbard,  who  had  studied  with  him, 
and  was  then  in  Saco,  to  take  Blanchard's  place.  His  practice  was  very  great 
and  very  profitable.  He  studied  thoroughly  every  ease,  not  only  in  the  law, 
but  on  all  that  related  to  it.  Among  other  means  to  serve  him  for  facility  of 
illustration  and  the  use  of  technical  words,  in  cases  of  Marine  Insurance,  he 
procured  a  model  ship,  with  every  piece  of  timber  marked  with  its  technical 
name. 

His  kindly  sympathies  won  the  hearts  (often  suffering  ones)  of  his  clients. 
His  integrity — "  that  e'en  his  eye,  when  turned  on  empty  space,  beamed  keen 
with  honor" — was  united  with  delicacy  that  shrunk,  unconscious  of  its  worth. 
His  mind  was  of  the  largest  comprehension;  his  perceptions,  quick  as  light- 
ning; his  knowledge  of  law,  profound  ;  and  all  his  aim  was  truth.  No  won- 
der that  all  his  time  and  all  his  talents  were  demanded  and  rewarded. 

In  the  midst  of  this  success,  the  public  called  for  his  services  on  the  bench 
of  the  Supreme  Court.  He  obeyed  that  call,  and  became  the  Justice  Buller 
of  America — relinquishinjr  a  practice  worth  four  times  the  amount  of  his  salary. 
His  health — never  robust — began  to  fail.  He  went  to  Europe,  and  was  en- 
lightened and  delighted  by  the  wonders  of  manufacturing  industry,  relieved 
and  guided  by  science  ;  but  most  of  all,  by  the  potteries  of  Staffordshire — the 
rough  elements  of  nature  wrought  into  perfect  forms  and  uses. 


THE    ARISTOCRACY    OP    BOSTON.  23 

The  Bench  in  England  aNvarded  him  distinction  not  before  conferred  on 
any  foreigner — he  was  seated  with  Stowell 

He  returned  from  Europe  with  improved  health,  and  has  since  lived  in 
retirement.     May  he  live  long,  and  happy  ! 

After  James  had  pursued  his  studies  in  this  country,  he  went  to  Europe, 
to  benefit  by  its  iiistitutioTis.  On  his  return,  he  opened  an  office  in  Hanover- 
street,  (near  the  residence  of  Wm.  Cooper,  the  old  town-clerk,  whose  house 
is  still  standing — No.  5.) 

How  few  are  left  united  of  those  who  got  their  marriage  certificates  of  good 
old  Mr.  Cooper!  When  Dr.  Jackson  opened  his  office,  a  career  of  unex- 
ampled success  opened  to  him.  Wealth  and  honors  followed  him.  The 
hearts  of  his  patients,  especially  females,  were  always  with  him.  No  man 
ever  attended  woman  with  more  patience  and  delicacy,  through  scenes  and 
suffijrinjrs  that  woman  only  knows.  Their  mental  suffering  he  tried  to  alleviate, 
by  introducing  a  lady  thoroughly  educated  in  midwifery.  He  was  opposed 
by  a  majority  of  the  profession.  He  retired  from  active  practice,  to  the  regret 
of  many  faniilies,  when  receiving  a  large  income  from  it.  For  more  than 
twenty  years  he  has  been  consulting  physician  only. 

JACKSON,  PATRICK  T.— More  than  forty  years  ago.  was  extensively 
engaged  in  the  Calcutta  trade,  with  Joseph  and  Henry  Lee.  i 

Beerboom  Gurrahs,  Chittabilly  Baftahs,  and  Cavvnpore  Sonnabs  or  Mamoo- 
dies,  are  now  unknown  here.  They  have  been  driven  away  by  Waltham  and 
Lowell  cottons — and  these  are  now  shipped  to  India. 

Mr.  Jackson  is  identified  with  the  change,  and  has  been  a  principal  agent 
in  producing  it;  and  Lowell  is  as  likely  now  to  equal  Manchester,  as  it  was 
forty  years  ago  to  be  what  it  now  is.  He  is  said  to  have  lost  much  property 
in  building  Femberton  Square  and  Tremont  Row 

LAMB,  THOMAS.     President  of  the  Wasbington  Insurance  Company. 

James  and  Thomas  Lamb  were  old  merchants  in  State-street,  to  Holland 
and  the  Baltic.  Thomas  is  son  o^  one  of  them  ;  the  other  died  a  bachelor. 
The  property  of  both  fell  to  him. 

LAMSON,  JOHN^.  Long  of  Lane  &  Lamson,  retailers,  (now  Lane,  Lam- 
son  &  Co.)  importers  of  dry  goods.     They  have  a  house  in  New  York. 

LAVVRENCE.AMOS— LAWRENCE,  ABBOTT— LAWRENCE,  WIL- 
LI AM — LAWRENCE,  SAMUEL — Are  sons  o^'  a  farmer  not  rich,  in  liroton, 
Middlesex  Co. 

The  oldest  brother — Luther — studied  law  with  Timothy  Bigelow,  (the  Rev. 
Timothy  Bigelow,  Unitarian  minister,  late  of  Taunton,  is  his  son,)  pooular 
in  Middlesex  and  Worcester  Counties,  and  long  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Re- 
presentatives. Mr.  Bigelow  removed  to  Med^rd,  and  Luther  succeeded  to 
some  of  the  business  of  his  office  in  Groton.  He  was  afterwards  appointed  to 
an  agency  in  Lowell :  fell  into  a  mill-race,  and  was  drowned.  He  was  a 
worthy  man, 

Amos  removed  first  to  Boston  ;  was  joined  by  Abbott  in  the  dry  goods  busi- 
ness, in  a  very  small  way,  in  Cornhill,  (near  David  Greenough  and  old  Caleb 
Bingham's  book-store.)  They  removed  to  New  Cornhill,  on  the  north  side, 
in  Chambers,  near  the  alley  leading  down  the  steps  to  Brattle-street  Church. 
While  in  Cornhill,  their  standing  v/as  jeopardized  once,  in  consequence  of 
some  severe  steps  taken  by  Mr.  Lodge,  an  Englishman,  resident  in  Boston. 
They  surmounted  the  difficulty,  and  ever  after  maintained  undoubted  credit. 
How  much  of  future  life  hangs  by  a  thread  ! 

Amos  married  a  daughter  of  Col.  Robert  Means,  of  Amherst,  N.  Hampshire, 
an  extensive  country  trader.  Col.  M.  was  an  Irishman,  who  for  many  years 
travelled  round  the  country  with  a  pack  of  goods  on  his  back  as  a  pedler. 


24  THE    ARISTOCRACY   OF    BOSTON. 

He  afterwards  established  himself  in  Amherst,  and  became  wealthy.  James 
Means,  of  Boston,  is  a  nephew.  Thomas  Means,- of  New  York,  is  another. 
Mrs.  Amos  Lawrence  had  had  a  previous  husband — one  of  tlie  Judges  of  New 
Hampshire. 

Abbott  married  a  daughter  of  Timothy  Bigelow,  before  mentioned.  Mr.  B, 
had  married  into  the  Williams'  family — a  sister  of  Samuel  Williams,  of  Lon- 
don, then  doing  all  the  best  business  from  Salem  antl  Boston.  Timothy  Wil- 
liams, his  agent,  was  a  Director  in  the  Boston  Bank  ;  and  William  Pratt  (late 
of  Boott  &  Pratt,)  had  married  a  Williams  also,  who  was  another  Director  in 
the  Boston  Bank,  David  Greenough,  before  mentioned,  a  zealous  friend,  wa» 
a  Director  in  the  New-England  Bank,  where  Amos  or  Abbott  became  a  Di- 
rector also,  and  afterwards  in  the  Suffolk  Bank. 

Williams,  Pratt,  Greenough,  and  the  New-England  Bank,  were  all  dealers 
in  sterling  exchange. 

Before  the  war  of  1812,  the  bulk  of  importations  was  made  but  twice  a  year.. 
Long  credits  were  given  here.  To  buy  well  in  England,  and  give  such  credit^*, 
required  large  capital,  or  ample  means  somewhere.  From  the  above  sources 
the  Lawrences  could  always  command  them.  Their  country  connexion  also 
gave  them^  great  advantages.  Means  was  a  leading  man  in  New  Plampshire. 
Tbo  Brazers  (large  traders  in  Groton  and  Worcester,)  and  Timothy  Bigelow, 
were  known  to  all  New  England,  and  familiar  with  every  member  of  a  Legis- 
lature of  six  or  seven  hundred,  whom  he  could  call  by  name. 

Thus  few  young  men  were  better  prepared  to  start  for  a  prosperous  career  ; 
and  their  respective  talents  fitted  them  well  too.  Amos — mild,  sagacious, 
quick,  (he  could  add  three  columns  of  figures  at  once,  as  rapidly  as  most  men 
could  one,)  the  desk  man,  the  counsellor;  Abbott — frank,  bold,  decided,  but 
not  repulsive  —  as  ready  to  break  through  obstructions  as  he  was  *' to  break 
the  back  of  a  long  invoice,"  examine  the  goods,  and  mark  them  for  the  shelves^ 
'  Industry,  iiigh  honor,  and  vigilance  in  looking  after  debts,  secured  success. 
Vigilance  was  not  the  least  necessary  under  the  detested  law  of  attachment 
on  mesne  process.  As  manufactures  advanced,  they  felt  their  way  cautiously, 
securing  the  advantage  of  consignments.  The  honors  of  bold  pioneers  cannot 
be  awarded  them.  When  less  prudent  neighbors  were  shipwrecked,  they 
were  able  to  profit  by  their  disasters,  and  buy  into  profitable  concerns.  Go- 
vernment had  forced  manufactures  upon  the  country ;  their  interests  became 
gradually  identified  with  them  ;  importations  of  many  foreign  goods  could  no 
longer  be  honestly  and  gainfully  made.  Abbott  Lawrence  was  the  natural 
trained  champion  of  the  tariff  policy,  and  boldly  appeared  as  such  in  Congress. 
There  his  open-hearted  manners  conciliated  good  opinion,  and  neutralized  or 
put  to  flight  all  suspicion  of  the\|Shrewd  Yankee.  He  spoke  but  seldom — with 
more  weight,  of  course,  when  he  did — readily,  well-informed,  to  the  purpose- 
He  had  a  great  interest  to  watch  ;  animosities  must  not  be  raised  on  minor 
questi^ons  :   he  was  a  wise  representative,  and  dangerous  opponent. 

The  feeble  health  of  Amos,  and  more  retiring  habits,  have  made  the  public 
less  acquainted  with  his  merits.  Many  who  know  them  well,  consider  him 
the  superior  man. 

Their  best  addition  is,  they  do  good  with  their  money.  A  week  hardly 
passes,  without  some  report  of  large  munificence.  Institutions  connected  with 
education  seem  to  receive  their  first  attention.  Simple  manners  add  charms 
to  their  gifts.  ] 

William  Lawrence  came  to  Boston  after  Amos  and  Abbott  were  established, 
and  went  also  into  the  dry  goods  business.  He  married  the  only  daughter  of 
William  Bordnian,  [see  Bordman,  Lyoia,]  with  large  expectations :  then 
took  as  partner  Samuel,  (now  at  Lowell ;)    then  Mr.  Stone — and  the  firm  be- 


THE    ARISTOCRACV    OP    BOSTON.  SO 

came  W.  &  S.  Lawrence  &z  Stone.  His  career  in  business  has  been  somewhat 
.similar  to  that  of  his  broilers.  The  source  of  his  wife's  fortune  may  have 
infused  a  more  adhesive  property  into  his.  The  Hurd  concern  at  Lowell, 
[see  Hurd,]  forced  them  more  into  the  manufacture  of  woollens — not  yet  so 
safely  and  profitably  established  as  cottons. 

LODGE,  (iILES.  An  Englishman.  Came  from  Liverpool  50  or  55  years 
atjo.  John  and  Adam  Lndjre,  his  brothers,  (among  the  first  American  mer- 
chants in  Liverpool  at  that  time,)  aided  him.  They  were  the  shipping  houses 
i>f  the  Wiggins,  Appletons,  and  ail  the  principal  importing  houses.  Giles 
was  an  importer  of  dry  goods,  hats,  &c.  He  married  a  MissLangdon — a  sister 
(u'  the  wife  of.  Thomas  Card  is.  After  living  in  Green-street,  he  bought  the 
elegant  house  at  the  foot  of  the  common  in  Boylston-street,  built  by  Nathaniel 
Tucker,  who  had  acquired  a  fortune  in  the  wholesale  grocery  business  in  Mer- 
chants'-row — first  Alanson  and  Nathaniel,  then  Beza  and  Nathaniel. 

Nathaniel  Tucker  was  more  fortunate  than  Thomas  Day,  (not  the  '*  old 
Thomas,"  nor  the  "  young  Thomas,"  of  the  old  glee  he  loved  so  well — but  the 
author  of"  Sandford  jmd  Merton,")  who  educated  tico  orplmn  girls,  from  whom 
he  might  choose  a  wife — but  neither  would  have  him  1  Tucker  educated  but 
one — and  she  did  have  him.  Tucker  afterwards  retired  to  Newtown,  where 
he  died  prematurely.  He  was  one  of  the  early  promoters  of  the  Handel  and 
Haydn  Society. 

To  return  to  Mr.  Lodge.  He  is  a  quiet,  good  man — and,  were  foreigners 
always  as  quiet,  there  would  be  less  corruption  in  politics;  few  votes  would 
be  bought  or  sold,  either  for  rum  or  office  :  but,  for  forty  years,  corruption 
has  gone  on  increasing.  Thousands  of  foreigners  are  annually  bought  before 
they  are  naturalized;  by  many,  perjury  is  committed;  and  yet  each  party — 
that  should  be  Americans — vies  with  the  other  for  success  in  the  damning  pro- 
cess !  Where  will  it  end  1  This  has  meaning  :  the  writer  refers  to  what  he 
knew  in  Boston,  of  the  first  men  of  both  parties,  nearly  forty  years  ago. 

LORING,  CALEB.  Of  the  late  firm  of  Loring  &  Curtis,  merchants,  and 
he  long  a  large  underwriter.  His  first  wife — Ann  Greeley,  of  Marblehead — 
was  mother  of  his  children,  id  is  second  wife  was  the  daughter  of  the  late 
Rev.  Mr.  Lathrop.  He  is  a  native  of  the  large  town  of  Hull,  and  was  a 
member  of  the  Massachusetts  Senate  in  1S2S. 

LORING,  CHARLES  G.  Son  of  Caleb.  Studied  law  with  Chas.  Jack- 
son— the  best  school  for  law,  manners,  and  moials.  He  is  a  good  scholar,  and 
reaps  his  reward  in  a  large  practice  and  the  confidence  of  all  who  know  him. 

LORING,  BENJAMIN.  Of  Hingham.  Whitman,  the  annalist,  (of  the 
Ancient  and  Honorable  Artillery  Company,)  says  of  him,  that  he  is  universally 
])opular  and  justly  esteemed,  and  that  there  is  as  much  of  a  benediction  in  his 
countenance,  as  in  that  of  the  late  President  Kirkland.  His  brothers  were — 
George,  of  Malaga,  (justly  celebrated  for  his  dried  fiuit — "Loring's"  brand 
being  preferred  to  all  others;)  he  left  a  large  fortune:  Josiah,  a  stationer, 
and  successful  maker  of  cheap  and  improved  globes :  and  Elijah,  long 
wharfinger  of  Long  Wharf,  agent  for  George  of  Malaga,  and  a  Director  of  the 
Eagle  Bank. 

LOWELL,  REV.  CHARLES,  D.  D.,— The  amiable  minister  of  the  West 
Church,  (Unitarian — formerly  that  of  the  celebrated  Dr.  Chauncey,) — is  son 
(•f  the  late  Judge  Lowell,  of  the  U.  S.  District  Couit;  descended  from  an  old 
Newbury  family.  The  Rev.  Dr.  resides  at  Cambridge,  and  is  father  of  Lowell, 
the  poet. 

LOWELL,  FRANCIS  C.,— Is  son  of  the  late  Francis  C.  Lowell,  another 
son  of  Judge  Lowell,  to  whom,  more  than  any  other  individual,  belongs  the 
credit  of  establishing  the  Waltham  cotton  factory,    (the  precursor  of  those  at 


26 


TlfE    AUISTOCRAfy    OF    BOSTON. 


Lowell,)  that  naino  licin'jf  c^iven  to  his  house.  He  wore  out  a  feeble  frame 
in  study  and  anxiety  to  effect  these  objects.  A  son  of  the  late  Francis  C, 
(John  Lowell.  Jr.)  married  a  daughter  of  good  Jonathnn  Amory.  Losing  his 
wife  and  children,  he  travelled  abroad,  and  died  in  Egypt,  havitig  by  will 
founded  the  **  Lowell  Institute."  Mr.  Francis  C.  Lowell  is  Actuary  to  the 
Massachusetts  Hospital  Life  Insurance  Company. 

LOWELL,  JOHN  A^., — Ls  son  of  the  late  John  Lowell,  another  son  of 
Jud  Te  Lowell.  He  was  an  able  lawyer,  and  zealous  in  politics  and  all  useful 
public  works.  His  ardent  spirit  gave  impetus  to,  and  carried  through,  the  pro- 
ject of  the  Mill  Dam  ;  in  fact,  he  gave  fire  to  all  he  did,  and  great  knowledge 
and  sagacity.  As  zealous  in  horticulture  and  agriculture—presiding  in  Rox- 
bury.  He  was  the  *'  Boston  rebel"  of  forty  years  since.  The  Lowell  Build- 
ings in  School-street  were  put  up  by  him.  By  the  will  of  his  late  nephew 
above  nam6d,  he  was  made  First  Cuiator  of  the  Lowell  Institute,  with  power 
to  appoint  his  successor — which  he  did,  in  the  person  of  his  son,  Mr.  John  A. 
Lowell,  who  is  aget}t  also  for  several  Lowell  factories. 

LYMAN,  GEORGE  H.  Son  of  the  late  Theodore  Lyman,  who  came  to 
Boston  from  York,  Me.  (where  his  father  was  minister,)  on  board  a  wood  sloof*, 
to  seek  his  fortune.  He  had  great  success  in  the  North- West  Coast  and  Can- 
ton trade.  Deep  animo.sity  existed  between  him  and  the  Perkins'  house  for  a 
long  time — law  suits.  He  agreed  not  to  pursue,  for  a  certain  time,  within 
certain  limits,  the  North- West  Coast  trade.  George  VV.  Lyman — his  son — 
went  into  the  trade,  for  the  first  time  ! 

Wm.  Sturgis  had  been  in  hi.s  employment  to  the  North-West  Coast  and 
Canton.  On  the  return  of  the  ship,  her  teas  were  sold  at  auction.  Sturgis 
bid  off  a  large  lot  at  the  sale,  under  the  usual  conditions  of  satisfactory  endorsed 
paper.  No  paper  could  be  satisfactory,  though  it  were  covered  with  the  best 
names  in  Boston.  He  was  a  man  of  strong  mind  and  bad  passions.  Such 
men  are  not  scrupulous  in  the  choice  of  means  to  effect  their  purposes.  Shy- 
lock  could  sacrifice  wealth  to  revenge. 

It  is  delightful  to  see  and  feel  such  a  character  softened  down  by  association 
with  his  retreat  at  Waltham — long  the  most  elegant  among  the  many  elegant 
seats  around  Boston. 

George  is  President  of  the  Lowell  Rail-Road  Company.  Married  a  daughter 
of  H.  G.  Otis  for  his  first  wife,  and  of  Wm.  Swett  for  his  second.  His  manner 
is  coldest  of  the  cold. 

MARETT,  PHILIP.  Formerly  Cashier,  and  since  President  of  the  New- 
England  Bank,  His  father  died  when  he  was  young,  leaving  two  children — 
Philip,  and  a  sister,  married  to  Aaron  Baldwin.  His  mother  kept  a  small 
shop  in  Washington  Street,  near  Boylston  Market.  Philip  got  much  credit 
in  the  city  councils.  His  recent  unfortunate  difficulties  with  the  N.  E.  Bank, 
have  made  much  noise.     He  now  resides  on  Long-Island. 

M,ASON.  WILLIAM  P.  Son  of  the  late  Jonathan  Mason.  Studied  law 
with  Charles  Jackson.  Is  an  excellent  man — of  winning  deportment — and, 
as  he  deserves  to  be,  in  good  practice,  and  highly  respected. 

MASON,  JEREMIAH.  Was  President  of  the  late  IT.  S.  Branch  Bank 
at  Portsmouth,  N.  H.  President  Jackson's  failure  in  attempting  his  removal, 
was  the  first  public  intimation  of  his  intention  to  control  or  destroy  that  insti- 
tution. Mr.  Mason  is  one  of  the  great  men  of  New  Hampshire,  and  an  able 
lawyer.  His  wife  is  a  daughter  of  the  late  Col.  Means,  of  Amherst,  and  a 
sister  to  the  wife  of  Amos  Lawrence. 

MAY,  SAMUEL.  The  oldest  hardware-dealer  in  Boston.  Kept  many 
years  in  Union-street,  near  Marshall's-lane,  and  removed  to  the  corner  of  State- 
street  and  Broad,  when  the  latter  street  was  opened,  and  has  remained  there 
ever  since. 


# 


.THE   ARISTOCRACY    OP   BOSTON.  Sf . 

He  is  a  pattern  of  industry  an3  exactness,  and  has  prosperously  glided  through 
marty  changes.     He  is  the  beneficial  author  of  one  general  and  useful  reform. 

Kis  late  brother,  Col.  Joseph  May,  was  long  Secretary  of  the  Boston  Marine 
Insurance  Company,  where  George  Cabot  was  President.  He  was  much  em- 
ployed on  arbitrations.  Misfortunes  in  business  had  not  diminished  general 
respect  and  confidence. 

With  Perez  Martin,  Ebenezer  Oliver,  and  others,  he  took  an  active  part  in 
changing  the  Episcopal  King's  Chapel  into  the  Unitarian  Stone  ("^hapel.  Mor- 
ton, Oliver,  and  May,  ordained  the  late  Dr.  Freeman.  The  Liturgy  of  the 
Church  was  castrated.    The  Church  remains  the  only  eunuch  in  the  country. 

MINOT,  WILLIAM.  A  good  lawyer  and  a  gentleman.  Son  of  the  late 
Judore  Minot.  His  v\ife  is  a  daughter  of  the  late  .Tudge  Davis.  Mi*s.  Robert 
Sedgwick,  of  New  York,  is  a  sister.  His  grandfather  was  the  liistorian  of  Massa- 
chusetts. 

NILES,  VV.  J.  Livery-stable  keeper.  Once  of  Newell  &  Niles,  merchants 
and  speculators,  in  Dorchester.  They  failed,  and  Niles  took  up  his  present 
business. 

ODIN,  GEORGE.  An  old  bachelor.  Long  a  hardware  dealer  in  Dock 
Square — as  was  his  older  brother  John,  whose  retail  department  was  a  noted 
curiosity  shop.  John  Breed,  of  Ebenezer  &  John,  opposite  to  him,  once  made 
abet  witlj  a  person,  that  he  could  not  name  an  article  of  hardware  that  v/ould 
not  be  found  in  John  Odin's  shop.  The  man  named  a  pig's  muzzle.  John 
found  it,  and  won  his  bet.  Of  course,  the  man  would  not  quiz  Jolm,  who  was 
from  **  pig  town,"  and  had  bought  Hog  Island,  and  noted  for — personal  neat- 
ness ! 

John  Odin  married  a  Miss  Walter,  daughter  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Walter,  for- 
merly of  Christ  Church,  Salem-street — the  steeple  of  which  blew  down  during 
the  great  October  gale  of  1803. 

Lynde  Waiter,  a  brother  of  this  lady — once  a  merchant — was  father  to  the 
*'  Transcript"   Walter. 

OLIVER,  HENRY  J.  A  North-End  boy,  and  of  the  firm  of  Oliver,  Bor- 
land &  Abbott,  when  they  began  the  auction  business;  afterwards  in  City  and 
State  employments,  the  duties  of  wliich  he  performed  with  puncfilwus  ^ScVity. 

OXNARD,  HENRY.  Was  an  intelligent  shipmaster,  in  the  employ  of 
Wm.  Gray,  David  Hinkley,  and  others  ;  afterwards  merchant,  and  sent  as 
agent  to  New  Orleans,  for  Lowell  factories.  Confided  in,  deservedly,  by  all, 
for  fidelity,  sound  judgment,  and  integrity. 

PARKS,  ELISHA.  Formerly  Elisha  &  Luther  ParKs,  auctioneers,  in 
Kilby-street.  corner  of  Doane,  where  Barker  &  Bridge  had  been — now,  Parks, 
Baldwin  &  Parks,  dry  goods  and  domestic  commissions. 

PARKER  JAMES— PARKER  PETER— PARKER  CHARLES.— 
Sons  of  the  late  John  Parker — a  man  made  to  have  his  mark.  Said  to  have 
begun  life  by  driving  a  country  butcher's  cart.  At  any  rate,  he  soon  had  a 
good  commission  business;  then  a  heavy  one,  to  which  he  admitted  several 
of  his  sons  as  partners — the  late  John,  jr.,  being  the  first.  His  business  was 
mostly  from  Newburyport,  and  towns  east  of  that,  and  Newport  and  Bristol. 
The  business  of  the  De  Wolfs  was  very    arge. 

It  was  a  sure  proof  of  credit  to  be  able  to  buy  of  John  Parker.  He  was 
exact  in  selling,  and  looked  more  to  security  than  to  strained  price.  He  had 
often  made  advances.  He  was  said  to  go  early  to  his  commanding  seat  in 
Roxbury,  to  avoid  Boston  taxes.  Bizearrolaya's  shop  in  Congress  street,  for 
years  his  resort,  was  once  a  droll  scene.  John  had  been  dressed,  queue-tail 
tied  o"id  powdered  as  usual,  and  gave  Biz  money.  In  receiving  change,  he 
was  short  a  half  cent.     "  How  's  this  V*     "  What,  sir  V*     "  I  want  half  a  cent." 


99  THE    ARISTOCRACY    OF    BOSTON. 

•*0  yes,  sir — yes,  sir  !"  The  wag  took  a  cent,  put  it  in  a  vice,  and  began  to 
bend  it.  "  What  are  you  doing  ?"  "  Going  to  give  you  half  a  cent,  sir."  It 
was  soon  broken — but  John  was  off.     That  half  cent  was  kept  for  many  a  joke. 

Wm.  Shimmin  married  his  only  daughter. 

PARKER,  MRS.  JOHN.  Widow  of  the  late  John  Parker— the  oldest  son 
of  the  noted  John,     Born  a  Sergeant. 

PARKER,  SAMUEL  D.  Son  of  the  late  Rev.  Dr.  Parker,  Rector  of 
Trinity  Church,  and  Jiishop  of  the  Eastern  Diocese,  who  remained  faithfully 
with  his  church  during  the  Revolutic^nary  War.  The  Bishop  once  preached 
a  sermon  before  the  Ancient  and  Honorable  Artillery  Company,  v^ith  great 
applause.  A  few  days  after,  he  was  complimented  in  one  of  the  papers  for 
the  eloquence  of  his  discourse;  and  a  conclusion  of  its  excellence  was  given, 
by  its  agreeing  so  closely  with  a  sermon  of  the  celebrated  Saurln  !  The  first 
five  volumes  of  Saurin's  sermons  bad  just  appeared,  translated  by  Robert  Ro- 
Joinson,  a  noted  Baptist  miruster  of  Cambridge,  who  afterwards  became  an 
Arian  or  Socinian.     Robert  Hall  was  afterwards  minister  of  the  same  church. 

PRATT,  GEORGE.  Son  of  the  late  Capt.  John  Pratt,  who  followed  a 
successful  trade  in  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  while  Spain  was  at  war  with  England. 
Retired  from  sea,  and  was  the  first  to  run  regular  packets  in  the  New  Orleans 
trade;  and  after  George  had  had  a  good  training,  formed  with  him,  John  Pratt 
&  Son — still  keeping  in  the  New  Orleans  packet  and  cotton  trade.  John 
bought  the  large  house  at  the  head  of  Pearl-street,  formerly  owned  by  Jona- 
than Harris,  called  "Harris's  Folly;' 

George  married  a  daughter  of  Giles  Lodge.  Excellent  parentage  on  both 
sides!  His  industry  and  prudence  have  deserved  and  secured  wealth;  and 
his  kind  heart  and  cheerful  temper  v/i]\  make  him  happy. 

PRESCOTT,  WILLIAM  H.  Son  of  that  safe,  industrious,  sagacious, 
and  eminent  lawyer,  the  late  William  Prescott,  and  grandson  of  Col.  Prescott, 
who  commanded  the  American  troops  at  Bunker  Hill. 

Mr.  Prescott  studied  law  with  his  father-,  and  inherited  a  large  fortune  from 
him,  which  was  increased  by  marriage  in  the  Amory  family.  But  he  has  dis- 
tinguished himself  above  all  the  honors  of  wealth,  by  his  ability  as  an  his- 
torian— one  of  the  first  (perhaps  the  first)  of  the  age.  His  Histories  of  "  Fer- 
dinand and  Isabella,"  the  "  Conquest  of  Mexico,"  and  the  "  Conquest  of  Peru," 
have  achieved  European  reputation.  American  books  are  read,  and  praised. 
'J'he  merit  of  these  books  is  enhanced  by  the  perseverance  that  has  overcome 
the  difiicultics  under  which  they  were  composed.  While  at  the  University, 
he  received  an  injury  in  one  of  his  eyes,  that  deprived  him  of  the  sight  of  it. 
The  other  became  so  much  debilitated,  that  for  many  years  together  it  has  been 
useless  for  reading  and  writing.  The  reader  is  referred  to  the  Preface  to  his 
•'  Conquest  of  Peru,"  for  an  aff*ecting  account  of  his  disadvantages  and  inge- 
nious contrivances.  Manly  courage  and  cheerful  piety  have  sustained  him  in 
his  struggrles. 

PUTNAM,  MISS  CATHARINE.  Daughter  and  only  child  of  the  late 
Jesse  Putnam,  of  the  firm  of  Putnam  &  Ingalls,  in  Kilby-street.  Mr.  Putnam 
was  deservedly  and  highly  reputed  for  mercantile  knowledge,  good  judgment, 
and  undoubted  integrity.  He  was  much  called  upon  in  cases  of  reference  and 
arbitration.  His  steady  democracy  never  lost  him  a  friend  in  the  hottest  party 
times.  Suavity  and  good  nature,  such  as  his,  softened  baser  tempers  in  others. 
As  might  be  expected,  from  being  long  the  companion  of  sucb  a  father,  Miss 
Putnam's  mind  is  highly  accomplished  by  extensive  reading  and  study, 

QUINCV,  JOSIAH.  Descended  from  a  time-honored  ancestry,  has  been 
distinguished  by  great  ardor  and  energy  through  a  long  life.  Previous  to  the 
war  of  1812,  he  was  a  ranting  Federal  spouter   in  Faneuil  Hall ;    and  In  Con- 


0 


THB  ARISTOCRACY    OP    BOSTON. 


gress  uttered  tbe  foolish  taunt,  that  the  Government  could  not  be'^  kicked  into 
a  war."  It  was  about  the  time  that  he  said  of  Henry  Clay,  that  "he  spent  his 
days  in  a  gambling-house,  and  his  nights  in  a  brothel !"  Mr.  Clay,  however, 
paid  him  in  his  own  coin,  when  he  remarked  of  him,  in  a  debate  subsequent 
to  this,  that  "he  soiled  the  carpet  on  which  he  stood!"  and  that  as  Judas 
Iscariot  would  be  remembered  through  all  time,  for  his  betrayal  of  the  Savior, 
so  he  (Quincy)  would  be  held  in  abject  remembrance  for  his  remarks  upon 
Jefferson.  He  was  Judge  of  the  Municipal  Court  on  the  trial  of  Buckingham 
for  a  libel  on  Maffit.  His  charge  denied  the  old  doctrine, — "the  greater  the 
truth,  the  greater  the  libel."  As  Mayor  of  Boston,  he  projected  the  new  mar- 
ket, and  the  noble  ranges  of  stores  where  formerly  stood  the  dangerous  and 
unsightly  buildings  of  Merchants'  Row  and  Codman's  Wharf.  He  was  un- 
wearied in  his  efforts  to  promote  cleanliness  in  the  streets,  remove  obstruc- 
tions from  the  sidewalks,  and  to  purify  the  Jiill.  Benj.  Pollard  was  his  lieu- 
tenant, and  was  closely  trotted  after  by  the  Mayor  on  his  pony.  He  was 
afterwards  elected  President  of  Harvard  University. 

Mr.  Quincy  married  into  the  Phillips'  family.  He  has  been  a  zealous  co- 
operator  in  agricultural  improvements.  Brighton  Fair  and  Cattle  Show  always 
found  him  there.     Hearty,  fearless  energy,  has  made  Mr.  Quincy  a  useful  man. 

QUINCY,  JOSIAH,  Jr, — The  present  Mayor  of  Boston,  inherits  many  of 
the  good  qualities  of  bis  father,  softened  by  greater  amenity.  Like  him  he  is 
fbrtunate  by  the  progress  of  great  public  improvements  during  his  mayoralty. 
The  new  water-works  will  eclipse  the  new  market. 

He  married  the  only  daughter  of  the  late  Samuel  R.  Miller,  [see  Gore, 
Mrs.  John,]  with  a  moderate  fortune.  His  principal  wealth  is  the  reward  of 
merit,  from  trusts  faithfully  executed. 

REED,  BENJAMIN  T.  President  of  the  Eastern  Rail-Road  and  of  the 
Shawmut  Bank.  His  father  married  a  niece  of  the  late  Mrs.  William  Gray, 
(Miss  Blackler.)  He  had  not  been  successful  in  business  at  Marblehead  ;  and 
for  him  Mr.  Gray  built  the  mill  in  the  Mill  Dam,  for  grinding  corn  and  wheat, 
and  furnished  money  to  carry  it  on.  This  investment  has  resulted  badly  for 
the  Gray  family.  They  could  not  get  rid  of  it.  The  iron  works  were  added 
by  Horace  Gray,  to  use  the  whole  water  power.  ^ 

Benevolence  prompted  the  first  purchase.  The  property  is  now  carried  on 
by  Wm.  Appleton. 

REVERE,  JOSEPH'  W.  Son  of  Paul  Revere,  of  venerable  revolutionary 
memory,  and  eminent  as  a  bell-founder  and  copper-smith.  Joseph  W.  succeeded 
his  father  in  the  same  line,  conducting  it  with  sagacity  and  prudent  enterprize. 
He  has  a  son,  (Dr.  Revere,)  who  is  distinguished  as  a  professor  in  the  Medical 
and  Surgical  College  of  the  University  of  New  York.  Dr.  Mott,  (the  Warren 
at  least  of  that  city,)  is  a  professor  in  the  same  College. 

RICE,  HENRY  G.  From  Brookfield.  Formerly  an  importer  of  British 
dry  goods,  first  as  Rice  &  Reed — then  Rice,  Reed  &  Co.,  who  were  not  sue* 
cessful.  Mr.  Rice  married  a  daughter  of  Wm.  H.  Boardman,  of  the  firm  of 
Boardman  &  Pope,  and  by  her  inheritance  the  fortunes  of  Mr.  Rice  were 
much  bettered.  His  lady  is  sister  to  the  celebrated  and  accomplished  widow 
of  the  late  Harrison  Gray  Otis,  jr. 

RICHARDS,  REUBEN.  Served  his  time  with  John  Odin,  long  in  the 
hardware  business  in  Dock  Square— now  in  metals,  in  South-Market  Street. 
The  hardware  business  requires  very  close  application  ;  this,  and  constant  deal- 
ing in  files  and  sharp  instruments,  may  give  a  keen  edge  to  the  faculties. 

RICHARDSON  JEFFREY  — RICHARDSON  JAMES  B.  — RICH- 
ARDSON   BENJAMIN  P.     Brothers,  extensively  in  the  wire  trade,  of  long 


# 
p 

30  THE   ARISTOCRACY    OP    BOSTON. 

stariditig  and  groat    industry  and  shrewdness,    at    the   head  of  Central  Wharf 
on  India  Street. 

ROBBINS,  EDWARD  H.  Son  of  Lieutenant-Governor  Robbins,  of  MiU 
ton.  Was  educated  for  a  physician,  but  preferred  speculation  in  real  estate, 
and  finally  succeeded  in  securing  a  fortune.  He  has  a  vigorous  and  manly 
mind.  He  married  a  daughter  of  Barnabas  Hedge,  of  Plymouth,  once  very 
wealthy. 

Lieutenant-Governor  Robbins  was  celebrated  for  great  ])0wer8  of  memory, 
and  for  his  loose  manner  of  business,  under  many  embarrassments.  He  will 
be  remembered  "  (Joivn  cast''  as  having  been  the  original  proprietor  of  what 
is  now  Rohhinton,  in  Washington  County,  Me.  He  was  in  the  habit  of  visiting 
that  place  frequently  about  forty  years  ago.  He  was  Lieutenant-Governor  at 
the  time  Caleb  Strong  was  Governor. 

ROGERS,  HENRY  B.  Studied  law  with  Charles  Jackson.  Is  son  of  the 
late  Daniel  Denison  Rogers,  who  had  been  in  the  dry  goods  business,  and 
later  in  life  moved  in  stocks  and  notes,  and  invested  also  in  good  real  estate. 
Henrv  B.  deserves  all  good  fortune. 

RUSSELL,  NATHANIEL  P.  Was  long  quiet,  diligent,  and  saving  in 
the  business  of  Marine  Insurance — first  as  Secretary  to  the  New-England, 
with  P.  C.  Brooks,  President.  He  married  a  daughter  of  the  late  Samuel 
Hammond,  and  from  her  property  and  his  own,  he  invested  in  manufactures, 
and  has  grown  rich. 

SALISBURY,  SAMUEL.  Son  of  the  late  Samuel  Salisbury,  a  deacon  of 
the  Old  South  Church,  with  Deacon  Phillips,  and  also  a  direcior  of  the  Massa- 
chusetts Bank.  He  was  in  partnership  with  his  brother  Stephen — S.  &  S. 
Salisbury — in  British  dry  goods  and  hardware.  Stephen  retired  to  Worcester^ 
with  wealth,  and  has  succeeded  Daniel  Waldo  there  as  President  of  the  old 
Worcester  Bank,  that  wo«dd  never  pay  tribute  to  the  Suffolk  Bank. 

SEARS,  DAVID.  Inherited  a  large  fortune- — nearly  a  million — from  h:s 
father,  of  the  same  name.  He  married  a  daughter  of  the  late  Jonathan  Mason. 
He  has  invested  largely  in  manufacturing  corporations  ;  and,  by  his  ample 
means,  decision,  and  sagacity,  has  profited  by  the  reverses  of  some  concerns, 
where  smaller  capitals  have  been  lost. 

Mr,  Sears  is  a  man  of  cultivated  mind,  refined  taste  ar»d  manners,  and  of 
large  public  views.  He  left  Dr.  Channing's  church  when  St.  Paul's  was  built» 
and  joined  that  parish.  He  has  been  a  liberal  benefactor  to  that  church  and 
several  other  public  institutions.  His  project  for  abolishing  slavery,  deserves 
more  attention  than  it  appears  yet  to  have  received.  Previous  ♦o  the  war  of 
1812,  he  commanded  the  Cadets,  and  has  recently  been  recalled  to  that  com- 
mand, to  retrieve  the  declining  fortunes  of  that  select  company.  Twenty-five 
years  ago,  the  residence  of  Mr.  Sears  on  Beacon-street  was  considered  the 
best  house  in  Boston.  He  has  a  cottage  at  Nahant,  and  another  seat  at  the 
mouth  of  Penobscot  River,  His  father  joined  with  the  late  Col.  Thoindike 
and  Wn>.  Prescott,  in  the  purchase  of  several  islands  in  that  vicinity,  and  other 
property  in  different  parts  of  Maine. 

SHAW,  ROBERT  GOCILD.  Came  to  Boston  young  and  poor:  a  distant 
relation  of  the  late  Samuel  Parkman — one  of  whose  daughters,  by  his  second 
wife,  he  married.  For  several  years  he  was  principal  of  the  firm  of  Shaw, 
Barker  &  Bridge,  auctioneers,  in  State,  nearly  opposite  Kilby-street ;  after- 
wards, of  the  firm  of  Tuckerman,  Shaw  &  Rogers,  (Edward  Tuckerman,  who 
had  married  a  daughter  of  Mr.  Parkman's  first  wife,)  large  importers  of  British 
goods,  in  Dock  Square.  Subsequently,  he  kept  on  Central  Wharf,  in  the  Sicily 
and  Trieste  trade,  and  general  shipping  and  commission  business-^uniting  with 


THE    ARISTOCRACY    Of    ROSTON.  31 

him,  Mr.  Perkins,  (brought  up  him — a  son  of  Samuel  Perkinifa  house  painter 
and  flour-cloth  manufacturer,)  and  one  of  his  sons. 

The  bland  maimers  of  Mr.  Shaw,  made  him  early  friends ;  and  the  great 
confidence  reposed  in  him  by  Mr.  Parkman,  gave  him  great  command  of  cipital 
for  any  emergency.  Ife  could  and  would  always  advance,  on  undoubted  secu- 
rity, fur  an  adequate  commission.  In  the  spiing  of  1816,  he  sold  Wm.  Gray's 
notes,  received  for  Rice  &  Savage's  (afterwards  Commercial)  Wliarf,)  at  2j 
per  cent,  per  month,  to  raise  money  to  make  advances  with.  Treasury  note* 
were  worth  but  75  cents  on  the  dollar.  What  must  they  have  paid  who  re- 
ceived the  advances  ?  The  money  pressure  was  very  great.  The  Southern 
banks  were  trying  to  resume  specie  payments. 

Mr.  Shaw  has  always  been  a  thorough  and  diligent  desk  man.  He  examined 
every  bill  and  amount  himself,  and  for  a  long  time  kept  his  own  books. 

Forty-five  years  ago,  auction-sales  in  Boston  were  disgraced,  almost  univer- 
sally, with  by-bidding.  The  practice  was  so  general,  thai  no  disgrace  or  dis- 
honor was  thought  to  attach  to  it.  Of  course,  it  was  met  by  combinations 
among  buyers — fraud  contending  against  fraud  !-^auctioneers  base  enough  to 
be  tools !  Mr.  Shaw  long  continued  wedded  to  this  practice,  from  force  of 
habit. 

Francis  George  Shaw,  the  Fourierite,  and  translator  of  George  Sands'  works, 
is  a  son,  and  lives  now  on  Slaten-Island,  N.  Y.  His  wife  is  a  daughter  of 
Wm.  Sturges.  Another  son  is  a  Roman  Catholic  priest,  and  has  recently- 
returned  from  Rome,  where  he  has  been  completing  his  studies. 

SHAW",  LEMUEL.  Chief- Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Massachusetts. 
Son  of  the  Rev.  Oakes  Shaw,  of  Barnstable.  Married  a  daughter  of  Josiah 
Knapp,  the  distiller.  He  was  many  years  attorney  of  the  New-England  Bank, 
and  in  moderate  practice  only  as  a  lawyer.  But,  he  was  much  engaged  in 
important  references,  so  that  his  sound  and  comprehensive  mind  was  well 
known.  P^iblic  opinion  pointed  to  him  as  the  successor  of  Chief-Justice  Par- 
ker. Orthodox  influence  could  not  prevent  it.  Chief-Justice  Shaw  is  an  Uni- 
tarian. 

WARREN^,  JOHN  C.  The  eminent  surgeon — the  Valentine  Mott  of  Bos- 
ton— succeeded  his  father.  Dr.  John  Warren,  in  practice.  In  reputation  and 
science,  he  has  far  surpassed  him. 

Dr.  John  Warren  was  zealous  in  the  cause  of  his  country  during  the  Revo- 
lution, and  served  as  a  surgeon  through  the  war.  General  Joseph  Warren 
was  a  volunteer,  and  killed  at  Bunker  Hill.  Twenty  years  ago,  his  remains 
were  removed  to  Dr.  Warren's  tomb  under  St.  Paul's  Church,  and  a  monument 
to  his  memory  erected  by  Dr.  W., — with  an  epitaph,  elegant  for  its  Latinlty-^ 
fronting  the  eastern  entrance  to  the  cemetery. 

Dr.  Warren  has  married  daughters  of  the  late  Jonathan  Mason  and  Lieu- 
tenant-Governor VVinthrop.  He  took  a  warm  interest  in  the  settlement  of 
Dr.  Potter  at  St.  Paul's  Church,  where  he  was  a  warden.  Pie  is  zealous  and 
active  in  the  cause  of  temperance. 

Since  that  time,  few  men  have  grown  to  fill  so  wide  a  span  of  usefulness  as 
Alonzo  Potter — now  Bishop  of  Pennsylvania.  He  has  fulfilled  Bishop  Hobart's 
opinion  of  his  early  promise,  when  he  selected  him  as  President  of  the  new 
College  at  Geneva,  at  twenty-seven  years  of  age.  To  great  talent  he  unites 
wisdom  in  government.  President  VVayland,  an  early  friend,  said  of  him, 
••He  is  a  great  foot!" 

WILLIAMS,  JOHN  D.  Of  the  firm  John  D.  &  Moses  Williams.  Has 
long  been  eminent  as  a  dealer  in  wine  and  spirits,  especially  —on  the  neck. 
He  was  first  a  market  gardener  from  Roxbury,  where  his  brother  long  followed 
the  same  calling.     A  long  life  of  devoted  industry  and  economy  has  made  "him 


32  THE    ARISTOCRACY    OP   BOSTON. 

very  rich.  Fei[prnen  have  understood  better  how  to  adapt  wiue  and  spirits 
to  different  tastes.  He  always  took  great  care  in  selecting — and  his  taste  was 
considered  good — that  many  of  the  first  retail  grocers  were  always  willing  to 
pay  a  profit  for  his  selecti(»ns,  in  his  teas  as  well  as  the  above  articles. 

WILLIAMS,  M(JSES.  A  brother— bred  by  John  D.,  and  then  taken  % 
a  partner.     He  now  manages  the  business. 

WINCHESTER,  WJM.  I^ARSONS.  Son  of  the  late  Edmund  Winchester, 
of  the  firm  of  E.  A.  &  Wm.  P.  Winchester;  and  as  that  firm  (the  first  pro- 
vision-house in  America.)  is  still  continued,  we  shall  include  all  the  principal 
parties  in  this  notice. 

Edmund  and  Amasa  came  from  Newton  about  fifty-five  years  ago.  The 
butcher's  stall  in  Faneuil-Hall  Market  was  attended  by  Amasa  for  about  thirty 
years,  while  ^^dmund  was  the  out-door  man,  and  buyer  at  Brighton.  Their 
talent  and  industry  early  attracted  the  notice  of  the  late  Ebenezer  Parsons, 
who  offered,  unsolicited,  to  endo^-se  for  them  at  the  Massachusetts  Bank — 
which  he  did  until  his  death.  When  that  took  place,  that  Bank  discounted 
all  they  wanted,  without  endorser.'  This  command  of  capital  enabled  them  to 
go  into  the  market  at  all  times.  In  the  packing  season,  theyjiilledat  Lechmore 
Point — a  thousand  head  weekly.  Their  packing  business  is  now  principally 
at  Cincinnati.  Their  brands  for  beef,  pork,  soap,  and  candles,  have  always 
Btood  the  first  in  the  country— >and  this  credit  is  ipaiiily  due  to  the  unwearied 
efforts  of  Edmund  Winchester. 

Edmund  Winchester  was  long  a  zealous  Federalist  of  the  old  school,  and 
very  influential  among  country  members.  He  was  of  great  natural  talent, 
great  energy,  and  a  Gillite  Baptist,  of  the  First  Baptist  Church — living  near  by 
in  Hichmond-street. 

Amasa  was  less  prominent,  and  more  retiring.  His  taste  and  knowledge  of 
music  was  self-acquired,  and  extensive.  He  was  zealous  for  its  advancement, 
and  for  many  years  led  the  choir  of  Dr.  Stillman's  church.  He  was  many 
years  President  of  the  Handel  and  Kaydn  Society,  and  a  member  of  several 
other  musical  societies.  To  no  individual  is  Boston  more  indebted  in  time, -^^ 
talent,  and  purse,  in  promoting  the  culture  of  music.  Handel  and  Mozart 
were  his  favorites.  For  many  years  after  Dr.  Stillman's  death,  he  worshipped 
at  Dr.  Sharp's.     He  died  in  December,  1846. 

Boston  never  had  two  better  or  more  useful  citizens. 

William  P.  was  bred  with  iiis  father  and  uncle,  and  early  admitted  a  partner. 
Be  married  the  only  daughtet*  of  the  late  Thomas  D.  Brashe,  by  whom  he  had 
a  large  fortune — nearly  a  million.  He  follows  up  the  business  with  the  family 
energy — going  west  every  winter,  to  superintend  the  purchases  of  pork,  and 
packing,  &c. 

Col.  Winchester  (of  the  Cadets)  has  shown  the  partialities  of  the  family  for 
aquatic  sports,  by  his  fine  yacht,  the  "  Northern  Light."  Like  his  father,  he 
avoids  public  oflSce.  

Postscript. — It  will  be  observed,  that  several  of  the  parties  we  have  here 
mentioned,  have  lately  deceased.  This  would  have  been  stated  in  its  proper 
place,  had  the  author  been  able  to  have  overlooked  the  proofs  while  the  work 
was  passing  through  the  press.  Another  number  will  be  issued  in  a  few 
weeks,  and  it  is  probable  that  the  work  will  be  extended  to  yet  other  numbers, 
80  as  to  include  the  prominent  men  of  other  places  as  well  as  Boston. 

*^*  Any  person  furnishing  important  and  reliable  matter  for  the  future  nuiu* 
bers  of  this  work,  will  be  fully  compensated.     Address,  with  real  name, 

**  Publisher  Boston  Aristocracy,  Boston  Fost-Office." 

BoiUniy  February,  1848. 


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